Elements of Animus
by NinjaFennekin
Summary: In May's world, it's not only Pokémon that have elements. When May falls unconditionally into a forbidden love, in the midst of a dawning war, how far will she go to make it right? Advanceshipping, Contestshipping, AshxMay, AAMayL, SatoHaru, Rated M for language, sexual references and violence.
1. Dawning

**Yes, this is a new story from me!**

**I don't think the idea behind it is that good, but maybe I can make it interesting. You know when you get an idea, and you just have to follow it? Yeah, well it's like that.**

**Anyway, the ages are explained in the story, and the 'elements', as you'll discover. The story's plot will move quick but not too quick, hopefully.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Welcome, to our Pokemon World.

In Petalburg city, it was a sunny day, but then again, it was always sunny in beautiful Hoenn.

The region was alive with people and their pokemon, moving between the cities, or simply staying in the same. They pursued their goals, never stopping, and always searching. The people of Hoenn were especially known for being happy, joyful, and always friendly people. That was just one of the many reasons why hundreds of tourists and travellers went to Hoenn each year, and enjoyed their time there.

Among these kind people of Hoenn, was May Maple.

May's world was different than any child could imagine when they first learned of its wonderful powers and mysteries. The first of these powers, was pokemon.

Pokemon had always worked alongside their human trainers, never to be mistaken for pets or any kind of slaves. Humans eventually discovered a way to 'capture' Pokemon, to make them their own, so they could train with them and send them out for battle. Each pokemon was a certain element, or 'type', whichmade them even more connected to people.

This is because, humans also have their own elements.

For as long as people had lived on Earth, they had each been of a single element. Some people were born of the water element, and therefore had power to control water, and handle water pokemon better. The stronger you were, the more you could control it, and bend it to your will. However, those that could control it best, were those who studied it and mastered it, or those who called on it in desperate times of need. Countless stories were passed around of people, claiming they had called on the water element when they were dying of thirst, or when they were close to drowning. Very few people believed these stories, and fewer still had ever had the power or strong emotions to do so.

But, unlike pokemon, people found it hard to get along with others of different elements. Nobody knew why, but it was never something that went on. People generally stuck with people of the same element, and never chatted to people of others. This made life harder, but people had advanced, and it became easier for them. Soon after May had been born, a new law was passed; 'You may not be involved with, or impose, anyone of a different type to your own.'

Like kings, each element had its own ruler, someone who kept peace with other elements, and controlled their people.

Even though May Maple was 15 years of age, she still was learning the ways of her own people. There was an extreme need for her to learn, for one day, it would be important to her.

Like a royal family, the title of ruler was passed down through the generations to people of the same family. The rulers had been decided hundreds of years ago when the men of a family had competed for the title (for no women would have been allowed to participate).

This was the reason that May needed to learn all of these things; because her father, Norman, was ruler of the fire element, and one day, he would hand his title to her.

So, May played a big role in the world she lived in, though she found it hard to accept, and basically just loved to cause mischief.

"May!" The call came from inside the giant pokemon gym, causing May to throw herself down and hide. His voice boomed across the courtyard as if he were using a megaphone. Except he wasn't; he was just angry.

"May!" He called out again, this time louder and closer. She smirked as she lay flat on her stomach, trying not to get caught.

Something about May made other people love her instantly. She had a mysterious and magical way about her, something that drew other people to her like a magnet. She had many friends, but also many people that didn't like her. She was known around Hoenn for not caring what people thought about her, being modest, and sometimes arrogant. However many people admired her for this, and she was loved across the region.

"Up there, sir!" Someone other than her father shouted, and she was snapped out of her daydream instantly. She jumped up from her position on the gym's roof and lost her balance. She fell painlessly onto her back and slid down the tiles of the roof until she was clinging onto the side of it with sweaty palms.

"May! What do you think you're doing up there?! Get down here, now!" Her father commanded, but May wasn't ready to give herself up to being grounded and punished, so she pulled herself back up, and carried on running along the loose tiles of the roof.

She was prepared to run all day, and she would of, had she not stepped on the wrong tile. The tile slipped free under her foot, and tumbled over the edge of the roof. May stopped and gulped.

"Ouch!" She heard someone call from below her. She cringed and lowered herself enough to peer over the side. Her worried eyes met the angry ones of her father, and saw that the tile had fallen onto one of his helpers foots. Now she would have to get down.

* * *

"May, I'm not going to punish you, just listen to me." Her father spoke to her as she sat with crossed arms and a stubborn look on her face. They were in her father's study, and he'd taken her there once she'd climbed down from the roof.

"Right, say what you have to say then. Tell me off, tell me never to do it again, and get ready to say the same thing to me again tomorrow." May grumbled. Her father sighed and looked down to her with an expression that almost made him look proud of her.

"May, one day, you're going to have big responsibilities. That's why we need you to stay calm, stop being so rebellious, and listen to what we say. I need to teach you things."

"Why can't you just hand your title to Max?" May retaliated quickly.

"Because surprisingly you are much more mature that Max. He is only 12 years old, and you're the oldest anyway. You should be happy about it. Anyway, you're stronger than him, we all feel it."

"I don't know how. I've never been able to do anything special." She uttered, still keeping her cross look, even though her father wasn't punishing her.

"I know, I know, but I reckon that one day, you will be able to." He reassured her, and poured himself a glass of whatever it was in his bottle, and sat opposite her. She straightened up a bit and tried not to look so grumpy.

"Dad, why can't we interact with other elements?" May finally asked. She'd never found the time to ask, or had forgot about it when she'd told herself to ask it. May had always been so curious about this question, because when she was 13, and still attending school, she had crushed on a boy in another class. Of course, she'd found out that he was of the grass element, and since she was fire, it was forbidden for them to talk. At the time, she'd been slightly upset. Now, she just wanted to know.

"Well, May, there was once a time when there was no law against it and we used to talk to them." He set his glass down on the table and clasped his hands together in a smart fashion.

"You see, May, the majority of us didn't get along. Those of us who did, never became friends. There's only ever been one recording of two different elements falling in love, and in that case, the women eventually ditched the man for another man of the same element as her. It's never going to happen again, and we'll never be friends. I know it's not nice, and you might want to be friends with other elements, but it can't happen. Besides, fire is quite popular, you'll find many suitable men."

He laughed lightly and patted her on the back. She merely stuck her tongue out at him.

"Dad... Kids have been spreading rumours about, and well, I don't like 'em. They're saying that there's a man in Sinnoh that wants one element to be the only element there is, and he's trying to start a war. Some say he's grass, but others say he's water. One even said he was Electric. Is it true?" She asked her father with eyes wide with curiosity. Like everyone else that had heard the rumours, they made her nervous.

"No dear, of course they're not true." He answered simply, and frowned. "And even if they were, I'm sure he wouldn't succeed."

He stood again and patted her shoulder as he walked out of the room with that frown still plastered on his face.

May knew that he was lying by the tone of his voice and body language. She was great at picking out who was lying and who wasn't, and her father had definitely been lying. He knew something she didn't, and she wanted to find out.

Later that night, May lay alone in her room with her thoughts. It was late, and she really should have been asleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about the different elements involved in her world. She couldn't help but think about the poor people that might want to become friends with other elements but weren't allowed to. It was a stupid law, to say that you couldn't interact with other people of the same species, when it could cause no real harm.

But May wasn't completely against the law, because she'd never wanted to interact with people of other elements, besides that small crush she'd gotten on the grass boy a few years back. She had no real opinion on the matter. Also, she had never talked to anyone, or touched anyone, of a different element. She didn't know what it was like

What she did care about, however, were these rumours of war, spreading around Petalburg city. May had never been one to believe in rumours, but something about these rumours seemed so true, and somewhat fragile, like she shouldn't tell just anyone.

In the corridor, she heard a light switch on.

She slipped out of her bed sheets and onto the warm carpet. She tiptoed across to her bedroom door, slowly turned the handle, and peered out into the hall. It was lit by a single light at the end, where the stairs met the landing.

Her father had gone downstairs to the living room, and she could hear him speaking quietly to her mother- his wife.

She padded across the hall and bent down on the stairs. Through the bars of the banister, she could see him sitting opposite her, and could hear his voice clearly now.

"They've been speaking about the war around the city. The children, I mean." Her father said in a hushed voice. He kept moving his hands, as if he was nervous. May narrowed her eyes to get a better look and watched his every move.

"The children? However in the world did they find out about it?" Her mum, Caroline, set down the glass she'd been drinking from and leaned forward. She didn't seem angry or upset, just shocked.

"A child probably heard it from their parents and couldn't keep their mouth shut. Anyway, I was talking to May earlier, and she asked about it. I don't want her to get worried about it, but I feel bad about lying to her."

"If you lied to her because you were caring for her, then that's alright. I'm sure this whole 'war' business won't get too serious anyway." Her mother reassured her father, but he still didn't seem calm, and his hands still wandered.

"But, if it does, they all know she's powerful. She may well be the most powerful fire girl out there. If water starts the war, then they'll try to kill her, or at least take her."

"Norman, it's alright, I'm sure it won't get that serious, honestly!" Her mother stood and walked over to his side, instantly calming him.

May stood and silently walked back to her room. She shut the door and fell back on the bed. She had never had anything in her life to be scared of, and now she felt real fear for the first time. There was the possibility that someone out there was going to track her down and kill her. If it were up to her, she'd get rid of her power, so that no one paid attention to her at all.

She wept onto her pillow for a short while before curling up, controlling her thoughts, and falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, May was back outside. She met with her friends from the local college. Some were boys, and some were girls, but one thing was for certain: there was plenty of them. Together they battled on streets which they shouldn't of battled on, climbed up on the rooftops, and caused some mayhem.

May did not notice, but three out of the five boys swooned at her, and hinted at her fiercely. She never paid them more attention that any of the others, however, because she didn't notice, and didn't like any of them more than a friend.

Eventually they all grew tired, and found a spot on the grass to sit on, where they could all talk to one another. A few people in the group were in love, and embraced on the grass. May completely ignored all of their actions though, because she wasn't involving herself though. She knew she would have plenty of choice when she did though.

What she didn't know was: She wouldn't be able to choose who it was.

"Guess what I heard?" May said, grasping everyone in the groups attention.

"I heard that the war rumours are true. My dad was talking about it, and my dad knows everything about that sorta stuff." She bragged.

"It's true?" One boy asked, and shuffled closer to May on the grass. She ignored this gesture.

"I reckon we outta watch the news and see." One girl suggested, and all of them looked at her. It was a rarity for teens to watch the news, and they hadn't thought of that.

"Right," One boy started, and grinned at his companions, "Who's house, then?"

"We ain't going to mine. My dad would kill me." May said, and looked around at her other friends. One friend of hers, Daisy, rose her hand.

"We could all go to mine, my mum's working all day."

Instantly, everyone was standing and hurrying in the directions of Daisy's house. Her house wasn't too far away, and soon they were all huddled around her television.

Daisy grabbed her TV remote, and turned it on.

"What channel would the news be on?" She asked, and tossed her blonde hair back.

"One. Try one." May suggested, and rightly enough, the news was on channel one. It was an interview, with someone high up, someone involved in politics. A news reporter was asking him questions and he was answering everything, telling the truth, and leaving nothing out.

"So, Mr. Jones, would you care to tell us what these riots are about?"

Every teen in the room sat silently, with their large, excited eyes glued to the screen.

"I believe that the riots have been caused by a group of grass people, lead by a single man called Harley. Harley believes that the world would be a much happier, safe, and fun place, if there was only one element alive. However he doesn't know just how dangerous that could be, and many people are now following him. A few days ago, it didn't seem that serious. Now though, people see him as a threat, and are calling upon armies to bring his down if necessary."

"And why do they think of him as a threat now?" The interviewer asked, and held the microphone up to his mouth again.

"Well, as you might know, water has a very powerful ruler, with two sons. One of the sons is to become ruler soon, the other has been captured by Harley."

"Harley has captured one of waters most powerful people?" The interviewer asked, trying to hide the shock in her voice. May gasped, and covered her mouth. She'd heard of the two sons, and knew that they were very powerful. That was all she knew though.

"Yes. We think that he might use him for blackmail, and may eventually kill him. Also, we know this... They're trying to find a way to _convert _people into a different element."

"Excuse me, Mr. Jones, we've just received some footage, and we're about to play it live now, if you could hold on for a second."

Immediately a video appeared on the screen, showing a purple haired man dressed in a strange costume. The man greeted the camera with a grin. It was clear that he was videoing it himself, and was the man they were talking about.

The man then turned the camera towards a cage, which was covered by darkness. In the corner, which was lit slightly by the tiny amounts of light entering the room, you could see a boy, sitting with his knees brought up to his chest. He had buried his head in his knees, so you couldn't see his face at all.

Then the camera whirled back around, pointing at the creepy guy's face again. He held up a knife, as if trying to threaten people, and grinned in a sinister way.

"You see this? This is what I will do if I do not get my way. I will get your children, rulers, and I will kill them slowly. This boy in here, he is going to starve to death."

The video tape ended, and everyone in the room was silent. Most of the other teens were still watching, but May could no longer hear it. She had blocked out all sound, and was holding back tears.

_Those bastards._

They were taking peoples children, and she'd just found out now.

Eventually, they would come for her.

May stood and headed for the door. They all watched her, but understood her, and didn't try to follow. Once she was outside, she was suddenly afraid for her life. It was a paranoia that overcame her, and forced her to sprint back to her own house. She ran faster than she ever had, until she reached her front door, and burst inside. Luckily, neither of her parents heard her, so neither questioned her. She was about to walk back up to her bedroom, when she heard her mother calling her father into the kitchen.

Again she stood by the door frame, and listened to them quietly.

"Caroline, we need to be watching her at all times. It's just been confirmed that they've taken a powerful ice and psychic child too. But out of every child that will be ruler, May is no doubt the most powerful. We have to keep her hidden."

"How long did it take them to get those two children?" Her mother asked, and May held her breath as she waited for the answer to come.

"20 minutes..." Her father answered quietly. Caroline gasped and almost dropped her cup.

"What?!" She shouted, and suddenly looked faint. "Where's May now?"

"... She's outside with her friends..."

"Shit, Norman! We have to go get her back, now!" Caroline demanded and rushed him out of the back door. May was about to run after them, and tell them that she was safe, when her thoughts stopped her.

She'd been bombarded with all this information, and just in a single day too. The day before, the war had only been rumoured. Now, this evil man was stealing the rulers children away from them and locking them up to starve or be tortured. May couldn't stand the thought of it, no matter who it was that was locked there. She had to do something about it.

Then an idea came to her head. A crazy, absurd idea, but still an idea.

_Dad said that I could be powerful._ May had to clench her fists to keep her from punching anything. _Here's my chance to prove that I already am._

May was planning on leaving her home, finding out where this man was, going to that place, and tearing it apart. If May could learn to use the power of fire, she could be much stronger than him, because he was grass.

What May wanted most was to show her dad that she could make her own choices, and save the children from being killed, even if they were of a different element to her. She might not get along with them, but a person is a person, and she felt it was her place to do something.

So May ran up the stairs and packed her bag full of necessities and pokemon, hurried back down them, and sneaked out of the door before anyone could notice her.

_I wonder if I have to power to change the world..._

* * *

**So that concludes the first chapter of Elements of Animus.**

**Later on, more pieces of the plot will be revealed, and people will start to meet...**

**Please, don't forget to review, and tell me whether I should continue this and whatnot,**

**Ninja.**


	2. Captured

**I already have 8 chapters of this typed up. I just want to get a few opinions before I post the next ones.**

**So yes, Ash's type may be surprising. It was the next best thing from electric. I thought the type he is would be better since it goes well with the whole forbidden love thing. (Think about May's type, and his type.) The plot may seem a bit boring, I'll try to make it more interesting later on.**

* * *

May sat alone on the train. She leaned against the glass and let her cheek rest against it. The cool ran up her face, and she closed her eyes. At the time, running away seemed like a good idea. But May had always been so reckless, that she never really thought about the consequences. Now, she was worried, scared, and desperately missing her family.

She couldn't bear to think about them any longer, so she stood, and walked to another persons seat.

"Excuse me?" She asked, and tried to hide the fact that she was close to tears.

"Yes ma'am?" A friendly gentleman looked up with a kindly smile on his face.

"You know those kids that were taken from the rulers?" She asked him politely, since she could tell he was also of the fire element. You could see it in peoples eyes.

The man blinked a few times, but offered his answer. "Yes, what about them?"

"Do you know where they were taken? I'm just curious." May asked him another question, and put on her best innocent eyes and smile. The man hesitated for a moment, but May knew he would answer her anyway.

"Well yes, they were taken to Sinnoh, a region not too far from here. Nobody dares to go there though, they say it's guarded by thousands of men, and Harley, he's a mad man."

"Oh... Do you know where in Sinnoh?"

"I do." The man said, pleased about his knowledge. Before he could think about the consequences of telling a teenager the location, he began to tell her all he knew.

"It's located just off the port city of Sunyshore. You can get a ferry there from Rustboro. A few days ago, three hundred soldiers were sent there, and none of them returned. Everyone is so tense, because they could strike at any chance. Also, they stole the wrong boy from Kanto. They stole the son of the ruler, but not the one next up to be ruler. He's still powerful, more so than his brother, but they want the other. They also said that they want the girl soon to be the fire ruler. I've never seen her, but she must be powerful. They're really after her."

May felt herself become dizzy, and clenched her eyes shut. Suddenly, she felt the man's hand wrap around her arm, and they flickered open again.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

May was about to say that she was, when she was cut off by the speakers on either side of the train carriage.

"The next stop is Rustboro city. Change here for Verdanturf and Mauville city. We will arrive in approximately ten minutes."

"I'm fine." May reassured him and pulled her arm gently away. In just two days she'd seen her life spiral out of control, and now somehow she was headed towards a place run by a mad man, with thousands of guards, and she had no plan. How could one fifteen year old girl take down an entire army of men, and make them release people they had captured? Another problem was that most of the other teens were different elements, meaning they might reject her, shun her, or at the least, ignore her.

May padded back to her seat and collapsed in it. She lightly banged her head off the window, cursing at herself. She couldn't go back now, she'd made a promise to herself.

Ten minutes passed faster than she'd expected, and soon she was stepping off of the train, onto the platform. She looked around at the surprisingly quiet station. A few parents walked along with their children. Most of the people here were of the grass element, so most of them ignored her. She felt out of place, scared, and upset. Those people... Whoever they were, were after her. For all she knew, they could have been watching her right then.

May shuddered and covered her arms. She gulped back her tears and left the station in a hurry. Rustboro was never very busy, but it was surprisingly quiet. Everywhere was, and May knew why. This crazy man was scaring everyone.

She looked across Rustboro. She could see a small port in the distance, with only three ferries there.

_Come on May, you can do it. You can think of a plan on the way, or when you get there._

As usual, May was completely reckless, even though she was completely terrified of what lay ahead. The whole story was totally mad and unbelievable, she could hardly believe it was happening at all.

May somehow convinced herself to go on. Even if she did get captured and taken away, her father would come for her, wouldn't he?

She entered a small building by the docks where she could buy a ticket. She purchased a single ticket to Sinnoh, with no returns, and sat down to wait. She had twenty minutes to kill, and she was the only one waiting so far.

"Any particular channel you would like on, dear?" The lady behind the counter asked with a friendly smile. As much as she should of, May couldn't bring herself to return the smile.

"The news, please."

"Alright..." The woman hesitated for a moment, then switched the news on for her. Just as she thought, the news was talking about the threat of war. Something like this had never happened, so it was a big deal. It would have been anyway.

"It has just now been confirmed that May Maple, daughter of the fire leader, has disappeared from Petalburg city."

Suddenly, a picture of her, recently taken, appeared on the screen. May froze, and turned her head towards the woman behind the counter. She was looking between May and the girl on the screen with wide eyes.

"Please." May stood suddenly, and put her hands on the desk. "I need to do something. I'll keep myself safe, don't say anything."

The woman stayed silent and nodded slowly. May saw in her eyes that she was grass, and that's why she wasn't talking anymore. May was practically breaking a law, but for some reason, she didn't care.

By the time May had sat down, watched the news say the same thing over and over for ten minutes, and watched the woman like a hawk, her ferry had arrived. Thirty people were already on board, but no more than that, and she was the only being picked up from Rustboro. She walked onto the ship, and handed her ticket to the man waiting for her. He eyed her for a moment, before nodding and giving her a light push on board.

_What am I supposed to do for two hours? _

May slumped onto a deck chair and tried her best to ignore the dirty looks other people were giving her.

At the other side of the deck, May spotted a young couple, only a few years older than herself. They teased each other and laughed, having so much fun, and sharing kisses as they did. He looked at her with loving eyes, and she returned his gaze.

For the first time ever, May felt pain in her heart. Back home, many of the boys had tried to get May to like them. One of them even asked May out on a date, but May said no, because it wasn't her thing. Now, sitting alone on the deck, she regretted the decision. Another of May's problems was that she was so alone. If she had just accepted his love, maybe she could have had someone with her. Someone would be supporting her.

Instead, she was alone. She missed her friends, and she missed her parents. She saw how much fun the couple was having, and wished she could have that too. She decided that when she got back, she would decide if she was in love with anyone, and accept them finally.

Since she had not seen another fire person on board, she lay back, and stared up at the sky. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Get up." The guard commanded through the bars. "Get up, now kid."

The boy stayed sitting in the corner, with his head on his knees, and his hands wrapped around them. He wasn't crying, or weeping, he just didn't want to give up.

"Still nothing?" A familiar, crazy voice spoke. The boy tensed up in the corner, and knew what was coming. He could hear the door to his cell creak as it was unlocked and pushed open.

"You're too troublesome, for a fifteen year old." The boy felt someone put their hand under his chin and push his face up. He was forced to stare into the horrible eyes of Harley.

Harley stared back into the boys hazel eyes. They were full of anger and hatred, but he had been expecting that.

"You'll listen to me, or we will kill your family." The mad man said in the craziest tone he could pull off. The boy didn't change his expression, and he didn't turn away.

"You will listen to me,

Ash Ketchum."

Ash held his hands out and pushed Harley back onto the ground. The guards shifted in a nervous way, but Harley just laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he can't do anything." Harley said in his usual high pitched annoying voice, and turned to leave the cell. He shut and locked it behind him, and tucked the key into his back pocket.

"You alright, Ash?"

In the few days Ash had been stuck in the hell hole, he'd learned that the person in the cell beside him was also his type. He couldn't see what she looked like, but she was nice, and always helped him out.

"Yeah." Ash answered, and sat back down. He heard her shuffle and lean against the wall that separated their cells.

"Hey... You know my name, but I don't know yours." Ash said, after a while of leaning on the other side of the wall. None of the guards bothered watching them, and the other kids were different elements, so they ignored him.

"My name's Misty."

"That's a pretty name." Ash complimented her. If he had been in the same cell as her, he might of noticed the blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Ash, there's a guard that has a soft spot for me. He gives me extra food and one time he let me out to walk with him for a while. I'm going to ask him if I can move into your cell."

Misty had learned that Ash's parents were planning on finding him someone he would have to marry, and they would do it as soon as he got back. It was a strange old tradition that the family refused to break. She knew Ash hated it, and this could be her chance. She'd first seen Ash two years earlier, when they were thirteen years old. Instantly, she was smitten. When she'd been sitting just three days ago, and she'd woken to the sight of him being pushed in by the guards, she felt as if her heart had stopped. She'd never been one for emotions or 'girly' things, but she couldn't help feeling the way she did.

"I'd love that, Misty. At least I'd have some company."

"He comes at night." Misty told him.

"Listen." Ash said suddenly, and Misty did as she was told. For a moment, all she could hear was silence. Then, she noticed what he could hear. Next door, somebody had the news channel on, and was watching it. Ash guessed it was Harley.

Both Misty and Ash sat and listened carefully. For a while, they repeated the same news that everyone knew. About Ash being captured, and the other children...

Ash heard Misty sniff from the other side of the wall, and was about to comfort her, when the news reporter started to say something new.

"Still, nobody has reported seeing missing girl May Maple of the fire household. It has been several hours since her disappearance, and currently, we are assuming that she was taken by the rebel Harley."

Ash felt his heart drop. Harley was stealing more and more kids. Looking around, he could see some of them. The cell opposite his was empty, but the ones around it were filled with other teens, each important in a way, and powerful, even if only slightly above average.

"Ash..." Misty started quietly. "That girl isn't here, they don't have her. I've seen her somewhere before, and she's none of these people."

"Fucking May!" Harley stormed into the room, not surprising Ash, since he was used to it. "She's not here, we don't have her, she's run away from home!"

Ash was suddenly curious about this girl. It gave him something to wonder about. He was so bored, after sitting doing nothing for three days. Now, this girls story seemed interesting.

"Go, find her." Harley ordered the men behind him. His voice was calm now. "And if she tries to get away or run, kill her."

"Fuck you!"

Ash's head jerked to the side to see who had shouted it. The person was a boy, another fire type. He was around seventeen, and taller than Harley.

"What was that?" Harley asked in a threatening tone and approached the boys cell.

"May will get here eventually." The boy never tore his eyes away from Harley, a brave move. "And when she gets here, she's going to tear this place, and you, apart."

Harley laughed. "Oh? And how's she going to do that?"

"Because recently her tests showed that if she learned to control her element, and master it, she would be the most powerful person in the world."

Ash was even more interested now, drawn into the story and unable to stop listening. Since Misty was silent, he figured that she was the same.

"Ha! You expect me to believe that a fifteen year old _girl _is going to kill me? Get real, lover boy. If she comes here, I will lock her in the cell opposite you, and make you watch her suffer."

Harley took a deep breath and left the room again. The boy was left frozen, unable to speak. He would do anything, be anything, as long as he didn't have to watch May suffer. He'd known May for a long time, because he was one of her friends, that had been in Daisy's house a day earlier.

"I feel sorry for him." Misty spoke quietly through the walls. As she'd said, her voice was filled with sorrow and sadness.

"We can't do anything about it, we can't even speak to him." Ash said plainly. He felt nothing.

"Ash, I'm going to rest now. I'll be seeing you later, when I move into your cell." Misty informed him. Her voice rose at the end of her sentence, implying that she was happy, or excited, about it. Now, Ash did feel something, he felt happy. The reason why he hadn't felt anything for the poor fire boy, was because he was of a different element. Ash had never felt anything for anybody that was not water, and knew he never would. He knew he would never speak to one either.

Before he realized he was doing it, Ash was drifting off to sleep.

Three hours later, Ash was standing. He wandered around his cell, bored out of his mind, and missing his friends and family like crazy. He'd never felt such a strong pull on his heart, especially for his brother, Gary. He'd promised Gary that they could go fishing like they did in the old days, and he should have been doing it right now, but instead he was stuck in the cage like a helpless animal.

Suddenly, his head twisted to the side. As he did, he saw a man entering the room, the man Misty had been talking about earlier. He heard Misty stand and walk over to the bars. The man couldn't have been much older than eighteen.

Ash was suddenly more curious than he'd ever been. He was curious about Misty. He wanted to know what she looked like, what her personality was like. At least he would have a friend in the hell hole he was stuck in.

"I need to ask a favour." Ash heard Misty say, and heard her hands wrap around the cold metal bars.

"Yes?" He asked. He didn't seem interested at all, but then again, he'd have to act like that so that he wasn't caught.

"I want to move into Ash's cell." She said straightforwardly. Ash watched as the man blinked a few times, and touched the keys in his pocket. There was no doubt; This boy liked Misty. If they ever decided to escape themselves, he would be a great ally.

The guard pulled the keys from his belt eventually, and began unlocking the door. Ash saw the end of Misty's fingers wrapped around the bars, and blushed suddenly. He was nervous now, because he'd never been good at interacting with girls.

Misty's door swung open and the guard reached in to take hold of her arm. Of course he wanted Misty to be able to get away, but if he let her escape, Harley could do anything to him, maybe even kill him.

The boy shook his head free of his thoughts and watched with a blank expression as Misty's right leg came into view. Then, she stepped out.

Ash found himself studying Misty, all of her features, and noticed how pretty she was.

She had ginger hair, and it was flowing down her back, almost reaching her waist. She wore a pair of denim shorts, and a yellow tank top that stopped at her stomach. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, and it was easy to see that she was a water girl. Overall, she was beautiful, and around the same age as Ash...

For the first time ever, Ash found himself blushing crimson red. He'd blushed before, but never this badly. He turned away and frowned as he pathetically tried to hide his blush.

The man walked Misty across to Ash's cell and unlocked his door quickly. He pushed Misty gently in and slammed the door shut behind him. For some reason, he didn't seem happy about putting her in with Ash.

The guard tied his keys back to his belt. Misty acknowledged him once more by nodding in his direction with a smile on her face. He nodded back, with a blank expression, and turned to walk away.

"So," Misty started, "Hey Ash..."

Ash sensed the awkwardness in her voice, and that's not what he wanted it to be like. He wanted to feel easy around Misty.

So he took three steps towards her and pulled her in for a hug. If he could have seen her face, he would have noticed the blush appearing on her cheeks.

After a short while, Ash stepped away, and Misty smiled lovingly up at him. It had worked; She didn't feel so awkward anymore.

"Ash." Misty started again, and moved closer to him. "I'm curious about that girl."

"The fire girl? Why?"

"Because if she ran away from her home, then maybe she's coming for us. Why else would she run away from home?"

"I don't... I mean, do you really think she'd do that? We don't know her, maybe she had problems at home or something..."

"I doubt it." Misty said and smiled. "She's soon to be the ruler of fire, and what that boy said earlier. He wasn't making it up; I've heard of her."

"She's _that _powerful?" Ash asked, already knowing what Misty's answer would be. He found it hard to believe that a fifteen year old girl could get them out.

Misty and Ash fell into a comfortable silence and sat down together against the back wall. Eventually, Misty became so curious about something, that she had to ask.

"Ash, what do you think of this law, about not involving ourselves with other elements?"

Ash was caught off guard by the question, and he stuttered.

"Um... I... I don't really know. I'm not against it because I've never felt any emotions for anybody of a different type. It's impossible to feel for them though, isn't it?"

"Apparently." Misty said, looking up to the ceiling. "I've talked to a grass person before, and it was like talking to a computer to me, or a wall. Still the rule makes things awkward. I hate having to wait in a different queue and stuff just because we can't talk to a different type for a second. But everyone's broken the law at one point, or at least most people have. In fact I think they only count it as against the law, if you keep talking to that person, or you touch them."

"I don't have any reason to be against it. It's never bothered me, and I've never talked to anyone other than water types."

"Yeah, me neither, I don't have anything against it." Misty said with a yawn and rested her head on Ash's shoulder. For a moment, he blushed, but it soon passed. Eventually, she fell asleep on his shoulder.

* * *

"Excuse me, Miss?" May heard someone speak above her. She slowly opened one eye to see a man with fiery red hair, talking to her.

"We will be arriving in Sunyshore city soon." He informed her. May sat up in her deck chair.

"Thank you." She said, and he walked away.

May stood and walked over to the railings. A cool breeze was passing, and it blew May's hair. For a moment she felt good, and free. Then she remembered what she'd set out to do, and her smile disappeared. It could either go really well, or really badly.

May decided not to dwell on those thoughts and made her way to where she would leave the boat. The ship was slowing, and pulling into the dock.

One of the staff tried to say something, but his voice was drowned out by the thirty or so people that had been on the ship. May allowed herself to get into the crowd that was pushing their way off the boat, and eventually got lost in it.

Soon, she was standing before Sunyshore city.

"Right... Where do I go now?" She asked herself and slumped her shoulders. She really hadn't planned this out well...

"What're you looking for?"

May whirled around, and her eyes met those of another boy. She realized instantly that he was not fire, but steel. He had a cigarette in his mouth that was not even lit, and his sunglasses rested on his head.

"Uh... I'm looking for Harley." May answered. She was confident that the boy would know who Harley was. More and more people were learning his name each day.

_Shouldn't of said that, should I?_

"Harley?" The boy asked, surprisingly calm, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why the fuck would you want to be there? Are you crazy?"

_I think I must be._

"No. Do you know who I am?"

"Um, no. Who are you?"

"I'm May." She answered and sighed. "Soon to be ruler of fire people."

The boy almost spat out his cigarette.

"You're her?! That makes it even worse, girl."

_No, I think it makes it better._

"Are you going to tell me where his place is?" May demanded, getting impatient. She was never very good at waiting.

"Uh, you just follow that road there. It looks like a cabin, but everything's kinda underground." He answered her after hesitating for too long.

"Thanks." May said simply, and turned to head there. Just before she could move, she felt his hand wrap around her wrist, and her stomach turned. A steel type... Was touching a fire type... May froze.

"You're going to hand yourself in to that bastard?" He asked, as if he wasn't bothered by the unnatural thing that was happening. May felt sick, and now knew why different elements didn't interact.

She jerked her wrist away quickly and stepped back.

"Someone could have seen you doing that!" She shouted, and rubbed her wrist. "And no I'm not, I'm going to get those other kids out."

May turned and ran before he could say anything else. She could still feel his hand around her wrist and her stomach flipped. Never again...

_If Harley even tries to touch me..._

Just as the boy had said, the cabin was down the road, and not too far away either. She figured that not many people knew about it, since it just looked like a beat up wooden home that no one would dare live in anymore.

_Better not get too close, May._

May wandered slowly closer towards the cabin, and crouched behind a nearby boulder. She inspected the cabin for a short while. Nothing went in, and nothing came out.

_I suppose I could get closer and look for a way-_

May's thoughts were cut off by something rustling in the bush behind her. She whirled around in fear and backed against the boulder.

She opened her mouth to speak

But she didn't get the time to.

* * *

Ash had also fallen asleep now, and his head was resting on top of Misty's. If a stranger walked past, they would have assumed that they were a couple.

A clatter sounded in the room beside them, and Ash jerked awake. His shoulders also jumped forward, and woke Misty up.

"Sir, sir!" Someone was calling. Neither Ash nor Misty spoke a word, just listened. Being ever curious, Ash stood and wandered over to the bars, so that he could look out. He could see a frantic looking man, with fear in his eyes, shouting for Harley.

"What?!" Harley finally appeared on the scene, and everything was happening in front of Ash like a play.

"They've got her sir, the girl, but she's fighting!" The guard shouted.

"The girl..." Harley's voice was full of excitement. "Yes! Yes! Bring her here now!"

_The girl? The fire girl?_

Ash turned and looked to Misty with sadness in his eyes.

"The girl..." He whispered.

"I told you she was coming here." Misty whispered back and buried her head in her hands. "Now she's caught just like the rest of us."

_What's that noise?_

"Listen."

Ash watched the door. He could hear something. He could hear her.

"Get off of me!" She was crying in despair.

Ash suddenly turned to Misty again.

"They're grass, and they're touching her."

Misty's eyes also widened. "That's wrong..."

_Let go of her..._

"Please, get off me..." May's voice was getting weaker. A cluster of guards pushed through the door, two of them had her arms. Ash couldn't see her face, but he could see her back, and she was trying to pull herself free. Even from his cell, he could hear her ragged sobs.

_Please..._

"Please..."

* * *

**And so, May is trapped with Harley. This is just the beginning of the problems she'll face, things can only get worse. .**

**Please review, even flames are accepted. c:**

**Ninja**


	3. Controlling

**Welcome to chapter 3!**

**I feel as if I need to warn you about the use of language and sexual references in this chapter. This story is going to move quick, so don't be surprised when a shit ton happens in one chapter.**

**So there's an 'extra' in this chapter, meaning he won't appear much if at all after this. He was just there to make Ash jealous, hehe.**

* * *

May's world felt as if it was falling apart. Her legs and arms burned. Her head throbbed painfully, and she felt herself falling into oblivion. She couldn't see a thing, so she didn't know what was going on. All she had the strength to do was wince.

"She's awake." Someone beside her said calmly.

"Good, sit her up, give her food."

She felt someone's hand on her back, but didn't have the strength to fight it. She braced herself for the pain as he started to push her up into a sitting position, but no pain came.

"You're in a safe place now May, you can open your eyes." Someone spoke to her in a comforting tone, and May felt her heart fly. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Only to be staring right into Harley's.

"Hello, Pop Tart."

May looked down. She was sitting on the floor, they hadn't even bothered moving her when she'd gone out. She'd just lain there for two hours.

"I hope you're feeling well." Harley said with a grin. "We're going to show you your room mates now. I'm sure you'll find one of them... _interesting._"

The two guards beside her grabbed her arms again, and all the pain flooded back to her. She gagged as her stomach did flips.

They lifted her up and began to pull her to the door. May had no strength to fight, and they had her arms. There were several things they could have done to kill her right there. It felt as if they were killing her already.

They pulled May into the room, and everyone's head rose. She hung limply behind them, struggling to move her feet and catch up. Her eyes were barely open, her face was a blank mess.

Ash watched as they dragged her in. He'd never, ever felt any emotions whatsoever for another element, and that was why he was beating himself up inside.

When they had brought May in, and they were touching her arms, Ash had felt sadness, pain, and sorrow. He watched her like a hawk, wondering what was so special about this certain girl.

"You can stay in this cell." The guard said with a sinister smile spread across his lips. He unlocked the door, and threw her in harshly. May, with no strength to keep herself up, collapsed onto her hands and knees and breathed deeply as she stared at the floor.

"Doesn't look like this one will be doing much moving today."

The guard rubbed his hands together and turned away. He whistled a happy tune to himself, until he felt someone grab his arm. He rotated his head with horror stricken across his face.

May had jumped up, and was staring at him with blank eyes as she held his arm. She tightened her fingers, and the edges of her nails dug in.

"You can go to Harley," May started, her voice full of hate and sudden energy, "And tell him to go fuck himself."

Ash tried to hold in his chortle.

As the guard was breathing heavily through his nose, his lips spread into another of his evil smiles.

"Oh no. He doesn't need to do that. He has you now, doesn't he?"

With that, the guard yanked his arm away from her grip, rubbed it painfully, and walked right of the room, leaving May frozen on the spot. She began to study her environment, looking at every other teen or child that was locked up. Then, her eyes fell upon Ash, and he met her gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She opened her mouth to say something, but never got the time, when she heard someone shuffling behind her.

Instantly she was there, searching the darkness for the thing that had moved. She found him quickly, tied to the wall and gagged.

She gasped and pulled the gag off his mouth with shaking hands.

_What's made her so upset?_

May's sobs were louder now as she ripped the rope from the top of the wall, let his hands free, and wrapped her arms around him. She cried violently onto his chest as he struggled to keep himself upright. Ash watched, feeling the same pain as he had earlier. He sat down, not next to Misty, and kept watching, as nosy as it may have been.

"Elian." May spoke his name, and helped him to sit down on the floor. "Oh, El. How did you end up here?"

Ash watched with curious eyes as she cared for her friend, checking where his wounds were. Since he didn't mind, she ripped part of his shirt off, and used it to wrap around a serious gash that he'd acquired on his right leg.

"Thank you, May..." Ash heard him say, and he looked up at her. She looked back down at him, and sat down next to him.

Elian had been one of May's best friends since she was old enough to talk. They'd always played together, and he was the friend that she trusted the most. She knew she could tell him anything. Also, there was a time when May wondered if she loved him. But she was too young, and for whatever reason, she couldn't make herself. She wanted to love him, badly. Even more so now.

Elian looked left, to face her. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

_She's so caring, brave... and beautiful..._ Ash though to himself, then shook his head in frustration. _Why am I thinking these things?_

Ash's eyes were suddenly back on the two, as Elian shuffled closer to May, and she put her head on his chest. They leaned against the back wall of their cell, and Ash felt some sort of pain in his heart, something he'd never felt before.

May looked up, and El looked down to meet her eyes. It was as if they spoke to each other, because they both began to lean in at the same time. Their lips met, and May turned her body to face his. She pushed him back against the wall as she kissed him desperately. It lasted for a few minutes, before the boy pulled away and May tried to kiss him again, but Elian stopped her and smiled. He gestured for her to look around, and she noticed that many people were staring, including Ash. She blushed and sat back down, resting her head against him again but not sleeping.

Ash was just sitting, blinking, trying to register what was going on. Whatever it was, it wasn't right. When they'd started to kiss, Ash shouldn't of cared, because he was water and she was fire. Except he did care. He'd felt his heart sink, and he couldn't breathe. He'd only seen her two hours ago. What was going on?

_No, no..._

"Ash?" He heard Misty call him from the back. He looked back at her, then to May. May was watching him, with tired eyes. He didn't smile at her, he just walked to the back where Misty was.

"I'm here."

"Are you okay?" She asked him, and moved closer as they stood. They were just inches apart now, and Misty was a flare of emotion. Ash, however, didn't feel the way he wanted to.

"I'm fine." Ash whispered, as her face hovered just centimetres away from his. May continued to watch, he could feel her eyes on his back.

"I've been wanting to ask you something." She whispered back, and he could feel her warm breath on his cheek.

"Ask away." He said with a smile, and she instantly felt easier. She was about to ask him something crazy, and hoped he'd understand what she meant by it.

"Well Ash... Your parents..." She started in a nervous way. Ash nodded to encourage her. "You don't think... You don't think they'd accept a gym leader, would they?"

"Misty... What are you trying to say?" Ash asked with surprise in his voice. Misty blushed bright red, and May saw this.

"I'm trying to say that I love you. I saw you two years ago, and I've loved you ever since." She confessed quickly before she could convince herself not to.

Ash was taken aback, and surprised. He didn't know how to react.

"Misty, I..."

"It's okay, you don't have to answer."

Ash had never kissed any girl before, other than his own mother, because of the stupid tradition in his household. However, he had a pretty good idea. So he went for it. He put his hand on her arm to stop her walking away, waited until she turned to face him again, and wrapped his arms around her neck. He felt her tense up, and her eyes widened.

She couldn't wait any longer, she leaned in slowly and pressed her lips against his. She felt passion coarse through her, and knew it was love. She loved him so much, she never wanted to let go.

Ash, however, felt nothing. He felt so guilty about it, because all he was thinking about was May watching them.

Misty pulled away suddenly with a sad smile.

"You didn't feel that, did you?"

Ash lowered his gaze and furrowed his eyebrows.

"It's okay, I get it. You need to make your own choices. Also, you know what they say. You're destined to fall in love with a certain person, you're clearly not mine."

_Is she talking about soul mates? I've heard about them but..._

"Sorry, Misty." He apologized with a sad smile, and she nodded understandingly.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent, if they weren't already. The air grew clad with tension, as Harley walked into the room. His eyes flickered between everyone else's, with a hint of madness in them, that had always been there. The smile on his lips showed that he was going to take someone. When he took someone, sometimes they didn't come back.

He started to walk down the space in-between the badly made cells. As he passed the cell very opposite Ash's, the psychic children tensed up and shrunk back.

Then, he reached May's cell, and stopped.

Ash stopped everything he was doing and approached the bars of his cell. He watched Harley like a hawk as he look in at May. She stood bravely, and stood up. The boy beside her had fallen asleep and didn't wake up.

Harley grabbed the keys from his belt and unlocked May's door. She backed away warily until she was against the wall, but he still entered.

"You're coming with me." He said and grabbed her arm. Ash tensed up, as he saw May's face go pale.

May raised her eyebrow and looked at him with disgust. "What do you want with me? And how old are you?"

Ash didn't understand why she asked the second question.

"You know what I want, and I'm 17." Harley answered her, and yanked her out of her cell.

"I don't know what you want," May demanded, "So tell me."

Harley smirked. "You do know." He said, and leaned in. But instead of kissing her lips, he brought his face down, and kissed down her neck. May's eyes widened and she completely tensed up, unable to move and petrified.

Then Harley pulled away and tried to lead her with him.

"No." May shook her head in distress and tried to pull her arm from his grip. Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "No..."

"You don't have any choice." Harley insisted, and pulled back, clearly stronger than she was.

Meanwhile, Ash grabbed the bars. He could feel anger building up inside of him. He couldn't let Harley take May away, he just couldn't, but he didn't know why.

"Let her go!" He shouted suddenly, and Misty's head shot up. May was too scared to feel anything other than fear.

"Oh, what's this?" He walked over to Ash's cell, and dragged May with him. Now she was right in front of the bars of his cell. Ash's heart skipped a beat; he'd never been so close to her. He could of reached out and touched her, if he wanted to.

Harley stepped back and pushed May closer to the bars, so that their faces were just centimetres apart. She'd stopped crying, and her face was now full of shock.

"Why would you care for a girl that you've never met before, hmm?"

He pulled May back and stepped forward himself.

"Because you can't just do that to girls." Ash said with a determined look on his face. May watched as he defended her, with only curiosity in her heart. Why would he stick up for her like that?

"Can I not? What are you going to do about it?" Harley asked sarcastically and laughed. He was about to turn away, when something extraordinary happened.

Ash's anger all rose up at once, and May swore she saw his eyes flash bright blue. Suddenly, Harley stopped, and gagged. He let go of May's arm and ran out of the room, into the next one. Ash and May could see what he was doing as he bent over the sink and coughed. He choked for a few minutes before coughing up an extremely large amount of water. May turned to Ash with wide eyes, but he was too busy staring at Harley.

Then, Harley collapsed on the floor.

"Run!" Ash shouted to May, but she didn't. She looked frantically at Harley, then to Ash, then to Harley again. She turned towards Harley and walked over to him.

"What're you doing, are you crazy?"Ash shouted to her, but she ignored him.

She bent down and grabbed the keys from his belt quickly. Once again, Ash felt his heart skip a beat. She was going to let him out.

May ran back over and put the key in his cell's lock. Before she turned it, she looked up at him.

"I don't know who you are, or what the fuck you just did, but I came here to set everyone free, so come on." She said, with a little fear lingering in her tone.

_Oh..._

Once the door was open, Ash slipped out and stood beside her, blushing slightly. May waited until Misty was out, then pushed the door shut. Misty said nothing but looked at Ash as May hurried across to the opposite cell.

In the other room, a guard shouted.

"May!" Ash shouted, and she turned to him with an annoyed look on her face. "You'll never be able to set them all free, the guards are coming..."

"I don't care." May answered and worked on putting the keys in the lock with her shaky hands. Ash could tell that the guards were coming, and fast.

Without thinking about what he was doing, he ran over.

"May, come on..."

"Leave me alone."

He felt a pang of sadness, but didn't give up. He didn't want her to get caught again.

So as he heard the guards get closer he reached out and grabbed her free hand.

"We need to run!" He tried to pull on her, but she stood frozen. He looked back to her.

She was staring down at his hand holding hers with wide eyes.

Then she pulled her hand away violently.

"Don't..." She warned him quietly. "Just don't."

Ash was about to apologize, feeling his heart sink, when a guard burst into the room. Ash desperately wanted to take her hand and drag her out, but he couldn't. It didn't make him feel bad, but it made her feel horrible. It made her sick, when other people of different types touched her...

So Ash turned and ran, and prayed that she would follow. He instantly heard Misty running, maybe even faster than he was. But May, where was she?

Ash dared a look back, and stopped. May was running now, but they were just behind her. They were going to catch her. Her face was a mixture of anger and worry as she turned back and almost fell. Now she was catching up to Ash, and would reach him soon.

_Do what you did before, Ash..._

There was only two of them chasing her now, and Ash was becoming distressed. His mix of emotions was stronger than he'd ever felt.

Then she passed him, and ran behind him. He blushed as he realized that she was hiding behind him. He wanted to protect her so much...

His eyes flashed again, and Ash was using his power under his control. He was able to control it, somehow... He wasn't sure how he was doing it, or what to do. Soon, the two guards were choking like Harley had and May's ragged breathing was all he heard.

He turned to her and met her gaze. She stared up at him, with fear and confusion. He stared back with a blush and sadness.

"Ash, come on!" Misty shouted, and May's eyes widened quickly.

_Ash? This is _the _Ash? The son of the water ruler? _

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything, so closed his mouth awkwardly and walked past May towards Misty.

"Let's go then." He said to her as he walked past.

"Do you know where you're going?" May shouted to him, still standing in the same place. Ash turned, surprised that she'd talked to him. "Because, the exit's that way."

May pointed behind them. Ash blinked a few times, then sighed. He started to walk in the direction she'd pointed. She waited until he passed her, then followed him.

"Stop." She ordered, when he reached the end of the corridor. "I'm going to check if there's anyone there, here."

She tossed him Harley's keys, and he nodded understandingly. He set off unlocking the cells of the other children, some as young as ten, as May went to check. Misty comforted the people as they came out. But they only managed to set three more people free.

May sneaked into the back, and looked around. She failed to notice that Harley's body was no longer there.

_There's no one here..._

She peered around the corner into the other room, but no one was there either. So she decided to have a quick look around the room, and see if there was anything helpful.

All of a sudden, May felt a hand cover her mouth, and someone pressed close to her. She froze again, like she'd been doing a lot lately, and found herself stuck. And they were so close too... Whoever it was guided her into the room where Ash was unlocking the second cage.

"Stop." He ordered, and May recognized the voice as Harley's. She felt something press into the side of her skull, and her thoughts raced. Her heart was in her throat, she couldn't control the tears. Ash looked up, and stopped breathing for a brief moment. He dropped the keys in shock, and stared at Harley.

"Yes, I thought so." Harley said with a smile. "Now, step away from the cages."

May shook her head slightly, but Ash stepped away anyway. Misty also shuffled into the middle of the corridor, scared for her and Ash's life.

"You've caused me a lot of shit, Ketchum." Harley spat. "Who knew seeing this beautiful girl in distress would cause you to be able to control your power, finally."

Ash's expression turned sour. May was too frightened to feel anything but fear. In any other situation, she might have been wondering what he meant by that.

"You'll make a powerful grass type when I convert you, then."

May looked as if she was going to faint. Converting people, it just wasn't right. It was inhumane, wrong, and could even kill a person... If you converted their element, you may as well have taken their soul away.

"Get back in your cages!" Harley shouted, with the madness reappearing in his voice. He waved the gun at everyone, and they all hurried back into their cages, except Ash. May raised her eyebrow in a way that said 'What are you doing?'.

"Ketchum, you're an interesting person. If I have read your feelings correctly, you may be the first person ever to get those feelings. Congratulations, you can't accept them. You're going to be stuck with them, and never feel happy."

May didn't know what Harley was talking about, but Ash did, in a way.

"Well enjoy." He said, and pushed May into the cell beside him. He then pointed the gun at Ash, and May caught her breath.

"Get in the cell."

Ash stood still, refusing to move.

Then he heard the gun click, as Harley got it ready.

"Get in."

Now Ash moved, and dragged his feet into the cell. Harley never took the gun away, until Ash was in. May stood a little behind him, as he gave in to defeat. His face twitched with anger.

_Why can't I do that thing I did earlier?_

"Have fun." Harley turned to walk away, when the sink in the other room exploded, and the water flew everywhere, drenching the room. Harley whirled around and grabbed the bar.

"Was that supposed to threaten me?!" He shouted to Ash, who couldn't do anything, so he stuck his finger up, and sat against the back wall.

Harley rubbed the side of his temples and groaned before walking away and ordering someone to fix the sink.

May watched him walk away, still standing. Once he was gone, May realized something- She hadn't eaten since the ferry almost two days ago. A wave of weakness hit her and she collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Ash was instantly by her side, shaking her arms. He knew if she woke, she would hate him for touching her, but he had to. After a few moments her eyes fluttered open, and she shuffled back.

"How do you do that?" She demanded with a weaker voice than she hoped for. Ash stayed where he'd been sitting.

"Do what?"

"That thing, where you making the sink explode and people choke?"

"I don't know."

"Is your name Ash?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

Then everything fell silent, except for May's heavy breathing. She stayed away from him, like she was scared of him.

_What is wrong with me?_ Ash thought to himself as he looked away from her. _You shouldn't feel this way for a fire person, it's wrong. It's never happened before, has it?_

"Harley..." May started, and his head turned to her. "He's going to come for me again, isn't he?"

Now she was showing not only her stubborn side, but her frightened side. The side of her that needed comfort and someone else.

Ash sighed as she looked at him with intense fear.

"Well then, I'll not let him take you."

"You know... We've broken the law." May said with thoughtfulness in her voice.

"Does it matter in this situation? It's a stupid law anyway..."

_Why do I think that now?_

"I don't think it is."

Ash's heart was just sinking lower and lower.

"Ash," May started again after a few minutes, "Is Misty your girlfriend?"

Ash choked a little.

"Misty? N-No, she's not."

"Then why were you kissing her earlier?" May asked.

"She did that, not me. And that boy, whoever he is, is that your boyfriend?"

"No." She said. "He likes me though."

"Did you run away from home?"

May felt as if someone had stabbed her. The question hit her hard.

"Y-yes... I only wanted to save everyone here... I didn't mean to... And now I'm trapped here too and they, they don't know..." May stuttered and collapsed into tears. She brought her knees up and buried her face in them as she wept for her family, friends, and everyone else with her.

Ash could only frown and watch as he felt her pain.

Meanwhile, in Misty's cell, the lock clicked. Misty sighed again. She was trying desperately to do what Ash had been doing- Controlling his power.

However she was not nearly as strong as Ash, and when she focused on the lock, it merely clicked. She was growing frustrated, and tired.

Misty figured that since Ash had managed to control his power when May was in danger, that he must of just focused on it. After all, you couldn't feel emotions for people of other elements. Also, the stories of being able to find your power and control it when feeling strong emotions for yourself or another person were false, right?

At least, that was what everyone else believed.

* * *

**And so the advanceshipping starts already. And yes, I'm introducing the concept of 'soul mates'. Maybe I have decided to make it true, maybe I've decided to make it false. **

**So this story, it's going to change a lot. Just bear with me.**

**Also reviews are really helpful!**


	4. Illegal

**Sorry this took so long to get here, I have been on holiday to Portugal, where I had access to my laptop but not the internet. So I have 13 chapters of this written up, and I do promise that they will get better (writing wise) as I go on. **

**So in this chapter we see the start of the shipping already, and Ash and May perhaps getting along?**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

May was curled up on the stone floor, with her hair covering her face. She breathed lightly as she slept, and Ash watched her. He hadn't been able to sleep himself, because all he could think of was her. They'd only known each other for six days, and he was already getting these feelings. These stupid feelings that were... illegal.

They'd been in the same cell for four days, and they hadn't spoken much. He'd figured that May was a stubborn, hard to understand girl. He couldn't completely figure her out, as much as he wanted to.

"Hey."

Ash rose his head slowly, and looked to the person addressing him. It was the same guard that had moved Misty into his cell five days earlier. He wore a tired frown and sympathetic eyes.

"Hey..." Ash replied, and stood.

"Harley sent me to get her."

Ash became suddenly defensive, and stepped in front of her. Harley hadn't asked for her since Ash had made the sink explode. Also, he must have been scared, since he hadn't come himself.

"I don't want any violence, Ash. He's not going to... do anything to her. He just needs to take a blood sample. I promise."

By this time, May was waking. She noticed Ash standing defensively in front of her, and the guard speaking to him. If she had of been a water type, she might have blushed or felt love. Instead, she couldn't even feel gratitude.

_If he can't feel anything either, why is he doing this?_

Then, Ash stepped aside, and the guard walked in. May was filled with an instant terror, and wished he would protect her again.

The guard took hold of her arm, and she recognized instantly that he was fire, an unusual person to have down here. She felt relieved, but still worried. She turned to Ash with fear in her eyes.

"Don't worry, it's just a blood test. If it's not, I'll tear this place apart."

The guard guided May out of the room and locked the door behind him. Ash put his hands on his head and sighed as he slumped against the wall.

_What are these things I'm feeling? It's not right..._

Half an hour later, May reappeared. A different guard had her now, and she had the same look as she always did when someone else touched her. Ash stood and walked to the bars to greet her.

The guard opened the cell door. Ash stepped back and opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off when the guard pushed May inside, and she crashed into him harshly. They fell backwards onto the floor as he locked the door and disappeared.

May lay on top of him for a moment, with her arms tangled with his. As they collided, she'd been hit with a wave of emotion. Except this time, it wasn't pain or disgust. It was like someone had switched a light on on her head, and revealed the truth. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and her heart sped up. Her cheeks were burning up as she pushed herself up slightly and stared down at him. As she leaned on all fours above him, he pushed himself up until he was sitting up, then stared into her eyes. He wondered why she hadn't backed away yet, but really, the answer was simple. She was shocked by her own feelings and how quickly they came on. She fought back the sudden urge to embrace him, knowing it was illegal, and he would hate it.

Finally she pushed back and leaned against the wall, her breathing heavy. Her eyes were wide as she stared off at the wall and tried to pull herself together. Ash stayed sitting where he was, feeling the same thing he'd been feeling since he saw her, and still not being able to understand what it was.

_Calm down, May, calm down. _May spoke to herself in her thoughts. _This can't be happening, it's not right. It's _illegal. _Nobody... Nobody can fall in love with another element. Nobody. Oh, what am I going to do? I can't even look at him_. She dared a glance at him, and felt butterflies in her stomach, and nothing else. She had suddenly fallen head over heels for a water boy.

"You alright, May?" Ash asked her out of the blue. "You look a bit 'out of it.'"

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered, not even sure how to reply to him anymore.

"Are you... Missing your family or something?"

"Yeah... that's it." May agreed, though she was lying. "I wasn't really close with most of my friends but the ones that I was close to, I really miss." She continued the lie, making it stronger. He nodded.

"May, why do you shut people out?" He asked her, making sure he didn't make eye contact with her.

"Huh?" May said, looking up at him. _What does he mean by that?_

"I've noticed that you don't let people get close to you. That boy, you shut him out. You shut out the friendly guards, you wont accept their help. You shut me out, you don't accept my help."

May was taken aback. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"I... I don't need anybody's help." She answered when she found words. "I can handle things myself."

May then shuffled herself away from the wall and curled up on the floor. She was still shocked at the fact that she was getting these feelings. She didn't know why she was getting them, or how long they would stay, but she knew that she couldn't do anything about it.

"It's cold." She grumbled under her breath. She saw Ash stir out the corner of her eye and knew he'd heard her.

Ash shuffled over to her side, but she didn't look up. She wouldn't give in and acknowledge him, as much as her heart told her to.

But a shiver ran down her spine as she felt him curl up too, but close to her, touching her. A blush turned her face crimson. He almost wrapped his body around hers.

_This can't seriously be happening..._

* * *

The next morning, May woke first. They couldn't tell whether it was day or night, but May decided it was day, since all the guards were awake and alert. She slowly sat up, and looked around. She stopped breathing for a brief moment when she saw Ash sleeping peacefully on the floor where she'd just been.

She blushed again. Last night, when she'd said she was cold, he'd gone to warm her up. He was only being nice, of course. However May felt something else, like she never wanted to leave her side. But, of course, she didn't need anyone else's help, and she didn't need love.

Looking back down, she saw Ash stir. He slowly opened one eye and looked up at her. He kept the same frown on his face as he noticed her.

He stood up quickly, and brushed himself off. He wore a serious look, that almost scared her. He walked over to the bars as a familiar guard walked past.

_I can't take this anymore. _Ash thought to himself as he walked over. _I can hardly control myself... I need to get far away from her..._

"Hey." He called the guard over. The boy walked over to the bars, glancing right and left to check no one was watching.

"I can't take this place anymore." Ash started. The guard listened without saying a word.

"I need you to get our stuff for us. I know you don't like it here more than me, so come with us if you like. We'll need you to get our Pokemon, and the rest of our stuff. I'll try to... break something to distract everyone. You'll be able to sneak in."

May was suddenly alert, but not excited. The guard seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then nodded quickly.

"I'll wait for your signal." He said and walked off into the other room again. May stood and walked over to Ash's side.

"Ash, are we leaving?"

"Yes. I can't stay in this place any longer, I'm going mad." He said, shaking his head. _More like mad over you..._

May was asking him something else, but he blocked her voice out. He concentrated fully on the sink that Harley had fixed up. It felt as if in his mind, he was completely crushing the sink, using his bare hands. In the real world, nothing was happening.

Ash's eyes flashed bright blue, and the sink exploded again.

He felt a sense of pride for a moment, but it soon passed when guards stormed into the room along with an angry Harley screaming orders.

_I wonder if I can..._

Ash focused his attention on the sprinklers now, and in a second, they were on. The water sprayed down on everyone in the other room as they screamed at each other.

In the chaos, the guard managed to slip through easily, with Ash and May's pokeballs in his pocket. Putting his arm through the bar, he handed May her bag, Pokemon and phone, and Ash his bag and Pokemon. May checked that all of her stuff was there, while Ash pulled out what would be helpful and threw the bag aside. It would only be a burden.

May clipped the bag around her waist conveniently and waited for the guard to unlock the door. Once he had, May was out in a second, running down the long corridor with Ash hot on her heels. They reached the bottom and she turned abruptly, almost slipping on the floor. Behind her, someone was following. She hadn't checked if Ash was following, and part of her was scared for him.

Then she saw the stairs, and her heart filled with joy. The stairs led outdoors, where she could run in the grass, see Pokemon, and eventually return to her family.

May raced up them, clambering two at a time until she burst into the sunshine. She didn't stop running. Instead, she kept sprinting into the forest on the opposite side of the room. She could hear Harley screaming from inside the hell hole, and wouldn't be able to rest until she knew he wouldn't find her.

It didn't sound like anyone was following her anymore.

_There's a clearing there._

May emerged into the clearing and collapsed on the grass. She lay back, feeling the soft grass beneath her.

She composed herself and sat up. She was so hungry, she'd just have to eat. Before she got the time to grab any berries, she was hit by a new pain. She couldn't see Ash anywhere. What if Harley had taken him again? What if they killed him?

"Ash?" She called out, but nobody replied. It was dangerous to be calling, when people would be looking for her, but she didn't care.

"Ash?!" She shouted again. She heard someone shouting from close by, and set off running again. She had hardly been resting for five minutes.

She pushed through bushes and plants, some cutting at her bare arms. She pranced over a fallen log into another clearing and stopped to catch her breath. She was too worried about Ash to notice the scratches and blood on her arm.

"May!"

May's head shot back up at the sound of her name and she almost tripped over herself as she barrelled to where she'd heard it, just a few feet away. She knew it was him already, but when she saw him and it was confirmed, she couldn't help but grin. Before he had time to notice her, she spread her arms and wrapped them around him.

She forgot all about the fact that he was a water type.

He froze as he felt her arms around him. It was the first time anyone of a different type had ever touched him, rather than him touching them. A blush formed on his face and she quickly moved away. He turned around to look at her and noticed her ashamed face.

"Sorry, I forgot..." She apologized sadly. Ash didn't need an apology; He liked it.

"You don't need to apologize." Ash said with a laugh. "It doesn't bother me."

He placed his arms around her and pulled her in again. She rested against him and blushed bright red.

"Friends?" Ash asked, as he pulled away from her. Her heart skipped a beat. Was it possible?

"Friends..." She repeated, "I'd love that. I admit, I can't do this alone..."

Ash nodded. "Neither can I."

"But," May started, and grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away, "How do we get along? It doesn't make any sense..."

"... I don't know, but it doesn't really matter, does it?" Ash asked, glaring at her. "But we can't be seen together, or we'll be arrested."

"What a stupid law." May muttered. Now she had a reason to be against that law.

"Yeah..."

"So, um... Where are we going?" May asked, suddenly feeling nervous around him.

"I thought you'd want to save the others still."

"I do!" May quickly retaliated. "But we can't just walk back in there and take them out."

"Right. So what's the plan?"

"... I think we should go back to Sunyshore city."

"Back to Sunyshore? But if people see us together, we'll be separated."

And now, suddenly, Ash and May were a team. They both wanted the same thing, to release the other children and teens. That wasn't the only reason that May didn't want to be separated from Ash. The other reason was that she was falling in love with him, quicker than she could understand. Even if she didn't fully feel it yet, the fact that they could not be together was killing her inside.

"How will they know our element, if we wear sunglasses?" May finally answered after thinking for a few seconds.

Ash shook his head.

"But what if they recognize you, or me, or both of us? It's too dangerous, I don't want you taken away and locked up somewhere else."

_Yeah, that would give you more work, wouldn't it?_

"Ash..." May said, with her voice cracking. "I can't go anywhere alone. If Harley finds me... I don't even want to know what he would have done if you hadn't choked him that day..."

"Hey, it's okay." Ash said, and wrapped his arms around her again. Even he was surprised with how close they were getting suddenly.

"I won't let him touch you."

"Do you think we should wait until tomorrow to go into Sunyshore, then?" May asked as she pulled away. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted..."

"Okay, we can stay here." Ash said, and lowered himself to sit on the grass. May joined him.

"Don't worry, it won't get cold tonight. It'll still be pretty warm." He reassured her as he noticed her worrying.

_It's as if he reads my mind._

"Ash, you're a water type, and I'm a fire type. So how come I can talk to you, and I... I can feel happy around you?"

Ash was taken aback for a second.

"You feel happy around me?"

May blushed furiously. Her eyes wandered, trying not to meet his. Of course, he was so unobservant that he didn't notice how flustered she was.

"Well yeah. How does that work?"

"I don't know. Maybe we're the first people of different elements to like each other."

May giggled. "You like me?"

Now it was Ash's turn to blush, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, you're nice, and I do need your help."

May nodded seriously.

"Ash, tell me about yourself." She commanded him lightly, and placed her face in her hands as she prepared to listen.

"Myself? Um, well, my mom is the water ruler, but my brother is two years older than me so he'll be the ruler, not me. I'm kind of glad that he'll take over that, and not me."

"Anyway, there's one thing that bothers me. My family, they have this stupid tradition, where they choose who their sons or daughters marry. I told my mom that I wasn't going to do it, and we argued. The last thing that I said to her was that I hated her, but I didn't mean it. I just hate the stupid tradition."

May felt her heart drop. She knew that she had no chance, but this made it even worse. Ash's mom was going to choose him a girl, and he would have to marry her when he was older.

"So, your turn now."

May blinked a few times, but she'd been expecting him to say that. So, she thought about it for a moment, then spoke.

"Well, I'm going to be the fire ruler, maybe even next year. I don't want to be, because I don't think I'll make a good leader at all. I can't even listen to people, not properly anyway."

"Also, I can't accept other peoples help, usually. I block other people out, because I'm scared that one day, I'll have to leave them, and it'll break my heart. It's a pathetic thing to be scared of, I know. I'm not even that close to my family anymore. I have a few friends that I completely trust, and that's it."

"May, being afraid of losing people isn't pathetic."

"I think it is. So I'm going to make it up to my dad. He does try so hard for me." May said with a smile. Ash offered his own smile in return and asked;

"Where do you live?"

"Hoenn. You?"

"Kanto."

"Kanto's really far from here."

"Yeah, but it won't take long to get back."

Since neither Ash nor May had known what time it was whilst they were trapped, they didn't know what time it was then. When they'd emerged it had been light, but not too light. Now it was growing dark, it was maybe around 9pm.

"I think we should get some sleep, even if it's early." May said, and curled up on the grass. It wasn't comfortable, but it was more comfortable than being in those cells.

Now that Ash and May were friends, Ash didn't have to be scared about touching her; She didn't mind it anymore. So he curled up beside her and almost wrapped himself around her. She rested her head on his chest and he blushed slightly.

"Sweet dreams, Ash." She muttered quietly before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

May was walking, walking on and on. Oh, but she wasn't walking, she was running. She ran down a curved corridor, a frantic look on her face. She was in Harley's place, in his cabin, underground. What was she doing there?

Harley was there himself, curled up in the corner, not moving, just weeping. He was just sitting there, feeling bad. He had caused so much shit, how could he forgive himself? He would never be accepted by anyone ever again. He ignored the brunette running past him. He knew what she was going to do, and he knew he caused her pain too.

May felt as if her heart was no longer beating, her mind went completely blank. She was so worried, so _scared_, that she could feel noting. She could only run, run on towards the last room on the left.

As May skidded around the corner, the last few weeks flashed in front of her. The image of a laughing boy; Her laughing boy. All she wanted was him, and she couldn't even have that.

She skidded down and pressed her body against the glass. Inside, she could see him. He was coming towards her, staggering, unstable. She breathed heavily onto the glass as her eyes glassed over. Ash put his hand out and leaned against the other side of the glass. He looked up at her, but her eyes were so full of tears that he could not see anything. She reached her hand out and pressed it against the glass over his own.

"May..." He said weakly, and she let out a choked sob. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She burst into tears. Her ragged sobs rang around the room as her tears fell to the floor.

"Ash, you can't die..." She cried between sobs. His own eyes were glassy now. There was one thing that he'd always been too scared to say. He and May had never been right since that night. All they ever did was fight, argue, then make up. She blocked him out, and that was what worried him. Now, though, he had to tell her.

"May..." He muttered again quietly as he struggled to keep himself steady. "May, I..."

May held her breath as tried to stop crying for a moment to listen to him. She brought her face closer to the glass.

"I love you."

And then he was gone, he had disappeared.

"No!" May shouted, her tears flying as she shook her head madly. "No!"

She banged her fist against the glass, again and again. She screamed so loud that her throat hurt and Harley had to cover his ears. She cried and cried, unable to stop.

"No!"

May shot up on the grass, shaking and crying. Beside her, Ash stirred and looked up. It was pitch black, and stars had dominated the sky. Then, he noticed May's shaking and sat up instantly.

"May? What happened, are you okay?"

May turned to him and smothered him with a hug. She breathed heavily over his shoulder. She could still feel the way she did in the dream. It had felt so _real..._

Ash was still confused, but held her anyway. She'd stopped shaking, but he could feel her heavy breathing.

"Nightmare?" He asked over her shoulder.

"Worse than that." May answered with a sigh. Of course she couldn't tell him exactly what had happened, he would think she was crazy, or reject her love for him.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, and she nodded. She lay back down to sleep and he didn't try to talk to her any longer. He just lay next to her. He let her rest her head on his shoulder again and soon feel asleep.

May eventually fell back asleep, but was haunted by the same dream, or at least the start of it. She knew it was going to happen, and she woke shaking again. It was clear that she was going to be plagued by the dream all night, so she stood and went to a tree.

She collapsed against it and thought.

_I wish I could tell him, tell him how I feel. I wish I could ask him to run away with me. I've only just met him, but if he asked, I would. I feel so comfortable around him, even more than my own family. I'm falling in love with him, but it's illegal. I can't believe it's illegal to _feel...

May buried her head in her hands and scrunched her hair up as she tried not to cry onto her knees. She'd known this person for only several days, and she was in love with him. No matter what happened, it had to end bad, didn't it? Whether it was her being harmed, or him, or her having to leave him forever. There was no way two rulers children living in different regions could maintain a relationship and hide it from everyone else.

_But what if we could? Should I tell him? He must be feeling something, or he wouldn't be with me now. If he even thinks of me as a friend, it should be okay. He might break my heart, but at least I'd have told him. But I'm too scared to... I'm scared of people breaking my heart. Stupid._

* * *

The next morning, Ash found May sleeping against the tree and shook his head. He walked over to her and leaned beside her. She woke instantly and met his gaze.

"Morning." She muttered with a tired smile. She was still exhausted, and Ash could tell. She hadn't slept well at all. She suddenly zipped open her bag and rummaged through it. She finally found what she was looking for, and pulled out her phone. She pressed a button, and the time flashed up on the screen. It was just four minutes past eight. May stuffed the phone back in her bag.

"When do you want to go into the city, then?" Ash asked her.

"Not yet," May said defiantly. "We should get something to eat first. Don't want to starve."

Ash nodded and set off looking for berries, or whatever he could find. Soon, he found a tree filled with fruit. He easily picked some from the lower branches and carried them back to May. She too had found some food, and had placed it down in the centre of the clearing.

May took some fruit and bit into it hungrily as Ash sat opposite her and copied her actions. Once they'd eaten enough, he looked to her. He knew she wanted to say something, really.

"Ash," She started, twirling some grass around her fingers. "Why do we feel stuff around each other? We're not supposed to."

"Maybe we're just two oddities that just happened to meet up, and we've become friends." Ash suggested, not really thinking about it.

"No, that isn't it," May argued, and shook her head. "I hated all the other people touching me. I've been touched by a water type before you, I hated it. That can't be it."

"Maybe rulers sons or daughters can communicate with each other without hating each other?" Ash suggested again. He pretended he was thinking logically, but really, he had no idea.

"Maybe..." May trailed off, and they fell into a comfortable silence for a long while. During the time, May composed her thoughts and sorted herself out. She took her hair out of her bandanna, knowing Ash's eyes were always on her, and brushed her hair down with a small brush she'd kept in her bag. Then she tied the bandanna back around her head and proceeded to look through her bag.

She stopped when she reached a few photographs that she'd put in there years ago, when she'd last used the bag. The first was of her, only around six years old, with her baby brother, mother and her father. The next was of a bunch of her friends. At the time, they'd been eleven, and all looked so young and cute. She smiled at the picture, and moved onto the next one. It was a photograph of the boy she thought she'd liked. She frowned at it disdainfully, took it out of her bag, and threw it away. Ash watched as she did this, and caught sight of the photo as it blew past him. He also frowned, but didn't ask about it. He didn't want to offend or upset May.

May pouted when she reached the last photo, a picture of her brother, sticking his tongue out. Ash leaned over her shoulder and chuckled at the photograph.

"Your brother?" He guessed.

"Unfortunately."

Even if Ash and May weren't doing much talking, they were really bonding. They were become closer, and more comfortable around each other, every minute. May didn't know her dangerous their friendship could become. If she continued to feel this close to him, it would be too painful for her to bear when they had to part. She wouldn't be able to live without him. It would become so painful for her, that she would do something stupid. She'd finally found someone that she could talk to freely, not shut out, and she loved him. She loved him so very much, despite the situation they'd been in.

_I want to tell you. _She thought as he watched over her shoulder. _But I can't. I can't stand the thought of rejection. I can't bear it. What will happen when we rescue the other children? Will you leave me forever? Will you forget about me and return home? I might never see you again..._

May had to stop her thoughts before she started to sob or let out a cry. She closed her bag and Ash sighed from behind her.

"You okay?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Want to go now?" She asked him as she tied the bag around her waist. He stood and held his hand out for her. She took it, and blushed bright red as their hands interlocked for a moment, and he pulled her up. She wanted desperately to embrace him once she was standing, but she couldn't. These thoughts were just wasting her time.

"Let's go then." He said, and they turned, still hand in hand, and walked through the forest together.

* * *

**So it'd be great if you could write a review to tell me how I'm doing with this. I guess I shouldn't have written all those chapters up so quick, but I can always change them if there's something people don't like.**

**So until next time,**

**Ninja**


	5. Separated

**So again, lots happens in this chapter. I don't really have much to say about this chapter except enjoy!**

* * *

May and Ash stopped, they had reached Sunyshore city.

It had taken them only twenty minutes, though they had to push their way through bushes and thorns. Along the way, Ash had dropped May's hand.

_I do have some sort of feelings for her, even if I don't understand them. I'm just going to have to get over it._

And then, in his own head, Ash swore to himself that he would never let himself tell her.

"You stay here, I'll go and see." Ash held out his arm to stop her from walking and went on ahead.

"See what?" May argued quietly, but he was already gone, out of the trees. She rolled her eyes and sat back on the grass with crossed arms.

Ash looked around, and knew something had happened instantly. Hardly anybody was around, and there was an awful lot of police officers patrolling the streets. Was there a murder or something?

The next thing that he noticed was a large speaker that had been installed, sitting high up on a pole.

_What the heck is that thing for?_

Ash let his curiosity get the better of him, and wandered over to the nearest police officer. He forgot to worry about getting caught. Luckily, the police officer was not very informed, and had no idea who Ash was.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?" Ash stood in front of the police officer, his face twisted with curiosity. The police officer blinked.

"You mean you haven't heard? Son, I advise you go back home." The water type police officer had a demanding look on his face, but his first sentence just made Ash more curious, and now he needed to know.

"But I really don't know! Me and my sister were out camping in those woods so we haven't been near the city." Ash lied, and felt guilty for a moment. The guilt passed quickly.

"Where's your sister now, then?" The police officer was looking around for her. Ash's heart quickened as he realized that he was going to have to lie even more. He noticed that May was watching them from the trees, but probably couldn't hear.

"She's waiting in that forest over there, she's a little shy." Ash lied again, and gestured for May to come out. A look of shock waved over her face, then fear, but she took a deep breath and stepped out. She knew that if he looked into her eyes for too long, he'd know she was fire, and the two of them would be separated. So she kept her head down and shuffled her feet as if she were too shy to look up.

"Alright, so what's going on?" Ash demanded.

The police officer looked May up and down for a moment, but didn't ask her to speak, luckily.

"I'm going to try and explain it in as little words as possible, okay?

"You see, a week or so ago, the fire rulers daughter went missing. Everyone assumed it was Harley that took her, but when prompted, Harley confirmed that he did not have her over one of his crazy video tapes. Anyway, fire then assumed that water had abducted her. Water argued and accused fire of stealing their son, Ash. So fire and water argued for four days, and everyone knew it was going to happen. And it did. Two days ago, water declared war on fire. They plan to wipe out all fire types.

"I know I'm a water officer and all, but if you ask me, it's all craziness and should be stopped. Cities are going to be destroyed and people will be killed, over some children that were not stolen by either.

"Anyway, kids, you need to go home right now. Tomorrow, all children will be sent to the town hall for evacuation."

Ash and May were silent as the officer composed himself and walked away. Ash looked at May, and noticed that she was shaking, wide-eyed, and breathing heavier than earlier. His own heart was pounding in his chest.

Without having to talk to each other, they turned and walked further into the city. Once they reached an empty alley, they walked into it and stopped.

May turned away and burst into tears. The sobs shook her entire body as she struggled to control herself. Her crying was so full of pain, that Ash was sure her heart must have truly broken. He wanted to comfort her, and tell her it was okay, but then he would be lying to her. It wouldn't be okay.

May turned back to him, fresh tears always running down her cheeks. She spoke in between desperate sobs.

"This is all my fault! It's all because of me! People are going to die because of me! I only wanted to help people!" She cried out and collapsed onto her knees. She covered her face with her hands and it was clear that she couldn't handle it.

"No, May, you were only trying to help..." Ash knelt beside her, but she looked up at him with eyes so full of hatred that he moved back.

"But I didn't, did I? I caused a war with my stupidity! Now my element and yours are at war, and it makes this whole thing even more wrong!" She shouted. She should have worried about people passing by, but she didn't.

"I know, May, I know." Ash sighed. "What are you going to do now?"

She rubbed her eyes, but the tears still threatened to fall, and her lip trembled. Whether it was with anger or sorrow, Ash couldn't tell.

"I don't know..." She admitted. "Even if I tell my father that I ran away, and it wasn't your family, he wouldn't make peace."

"What if we went together?" Ash suggested. May turned to him and blinked hard.

"That would be even worse! He'd kill you!" She took a deep breath and calmed down. "Ash, me and you, being friends, it's crazy isn't it? Our families are at war and here we are, crouching in an alley, talking. I feel so strange about this. We're hiding it from our families because if we tell them, we'll be separated. It's like our secret."

"Do you really feel that strongly about being separated?"

"Yes." May answered straightforwardly. "Do you not?"

"I do." He said, and moved closer to her again. "But we can't do this, May."

May's eyes became frantic.

"Do what? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we should go home, and not see each other anymore."

May felt her heart fall and shatter into a million pieces. She had just been recovering, but now fresh tears were threatening her.

"No, Ash! I don't-"

"May, what are we gaining from this? We're being selfish to our families if we do this-"

"Okay!" May shouted, and moved closer to him in panic. "Okay. I'll come to Kanto with you, and we'll tell your parents. We can tell them about being trapped, about me running away and we can tell them that we feel happy around each other, even though it's never happened before."

Ash's face softened and he smiled. "You'd do that, May?"

"Yes, if I meant that we could stay being friends."

Ash nodded and stood. He offered her his hand and she took it. Together they walked out into Sunyshore. Now they weren't afraid of being seen. If anyone saw them, they'd just tell them that they were the rulers children, returning home, and no one would bother them.

Except the person that noticed them would.

Ash and May stepped out into the open, where the port was, hand in hand. Ash smiled over at May and she returned it as a man announced that a ferry to Kanto would be leaving in ten minutes. May wasn't scared about going to meet Ash's parents, though she really should have been. It was a dangerous move, but she loved Ash, even if he didn't know it. She didn't want to have to leave him.

They were about to head to the ferry, when May felt a hand grip her wrist roughly. She froze and had to bring her hand up to her mouth to stop herself from screaming out. She didn't dare turn around.

Ash noticed her stopping and turned around for her, still clinging to her hand. When he finally looked up at the person, he also froze. Extreme fear washed over him, rendering him speechless and motionless. His eyes grew wide, and he almost forgot to breathe.

Whoever it was let go of May's wrist and launched forward, pushing Ash away from May. She caught her breath as she recognized him instantly. Now fear washed over her too, but not for her, for Ash.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Her father demanded. His face was full of hatred and rage, making Ash even more scared. He wouldn't be able to do anything against this powerful ruler, so he shrunk back.

"How dare you touch her!" Norman persisted, closing in on him.

"Stop it!"

He turned to look back at May, hot with anger. She stood right behind him, angry tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Leave him alone!" She demanded. Norman turned fully to her. He was no longer shouting, but he was getting angrier every second.

"May, do you know who this boy is!?" He shouted at her now, but she didn't falter. Ash, still scared and helpless, was too shocked to do anything.

"Yes, I do." May never moved. Norman moved forward and grabbed her arm, making her issue a small cry.

"How dare you touch him! How _dare_ you break the law!?" Norman shouted right at her, and she started crying again. "We're going now."

"No!" She cried out. Her father turned and began walking, dragging her with him. She pulled against him, but his grip was too strong. She could do nothing.

"No, let me go! I can't!" May was crying so much now that she couldn't see properly. She blinked hard and the tears fell away like a waterfall. "Ash!"

Ash was up on his feet now, almost crying himself. He ran and reached out to her, but she was far too far away now. She reached out her own arm, and touched the end of his fingers as he caught up. For a moment, pleasure waved over her, and she longed to hold his hand again.

But there was her father, turning and pushing him away. He dragged her even further away. She was crying loudly now, but he ignored her. Ash picked himself up frantically, but it was too late. Norman had dragged May onto a ferry, then let go of her. She couldn't get off, but she ran to the railings. The ferry was pulling away, and Ash was standing at the dock, frozen, shocked at what had just happened and motionless with heartbreak.

May screamed his name once, and he shouted back out to her. Her father appeared again, and pulled her away from the bars. His face was almost sympathetic now as his daughter wept still.

Now May was gone. She was gone, and he was alone. He had wanted to go and leave her, and now that she was gone, he felt empty. He wanted to curl up and cry, but he couldn't. He was stuck as still as a statue, watching the ferry disappear into the distance with the girl he loved on it.

* * *

May sat stiffly in the chair. Her expression was the same as earlier- as if she were dead. Her father was trying to talk to her, but she refused to listen. He eventually gave up and left her to be. She immediately crawled into her bed and lay on it. She cried for a while, then fell asleep and didn't wake until they reached Hoenn.

Instantly, her father was taking her to the Rustboro train station, the same one she'd gotten off at. He didn't need to get tickets, since he was the fire leader, and was let straight on. May wandered over to the closest free seat and took it. Norman took the seat opposite her, and soon the train was pulling away. During the train journey, May was silent and still. She stared out of the window and looked blank. Inside, her heart was broken and she was always fighting the tears. Eventually, her Dad tried to talk to her, like she knew he would.

"May, I'm sorry for dragging you away like that."

May looked up and blinked, but her expression didn't chance. It was just the first time he'd apologized for it.

"I want to know why you ran way from home, May. Were we doing something wrong?" He asked, and all May's guilt hit her at once.

"No!" She answered quickly. "I ran away because I found out about the other children and I wanted to save them."

"You wanted to save them?" He could hardly believe his daughter would run away to do that. Then, another thought crossed his mind, and he struggled to remain calm.

"Do you know who that boy was?"

May sighed, he'd already asked this question. "Yes." She answered, and lowered her head. "His name's Ash, and he's the water rulers son."

"And you were hanging around with him, weren't you?" Her dad pressed.

"Yes."

"May, when we hang around with people of other elements, all we feel is pain, or something not far from it. We hate doing it. You can't tell me that you didn't feel that."

"I didn't." May persisted. "I didn't feel a thing. If anything, I felt happy, dad." She looked over to Norman, who was holding his head and had gone slightly pale. She understood why he reacted to it that way. It wasn't normal, feeling happy around a different element. It was far from normal. That meant she was far from normal too.

"And..." Her father was going to ask her a question, but it was almost as if he was scared to. "He didn't feel bad either?"

"No, he didn't. We agreed to be friends and stuck together. We were going to get those other kids out."

She noticed her fathers reaction; He was highly stressed. She couldn't even have guessed the reason for it, because it was much more serious than she could have imagined.

"May... I... Well, um, remember when I told you that story about the two people being in love, and they were different types?"

May nodded, and he continued.

"Well, I wasn't lying. That happened three generations ago. They were in love, and they weren't just anybody. They were also rulers children.

Also, I lied about the ending. They didn't drift apart and find other people. They fell so in love with each other that they tried to stop a war between their parents and died in the process."

May was silent for a while, taking the story in. So, this tale was true? And she was the first to get this since? Was it just a coincidence that she was also a rulers child, and a war was also raging? The only thing was, Ash didn't love her back. If he did, he wouldn't have suggested leaving each other. She felt a stab of pain in her heart.

"So May, I don't want you to see that boy anymore. It's not a legend or anything, but you have to understand that I'm only worried about you. If you were to fall in love with him, it would be both illegal and unaccepted. Why you don't feel bad around him, I don't know. Do you feel bad around other people of different types?"

"Yes, I feel horrible around them." May replied honestly, and her father shook his head. He was growing more and more pale, and something was clicking into place in his brain.

"Is it true that when you're born into the world, you already have a soul mate, and they're the only person you'll ever truly love? You just have to find them?"

"Yes." Her dad answered her, much to her shock. She had assumed it was just a rumour.

"When we're born, someone is already our soul mate. Someone perfect for us, someone that we instantly feel comfortable around. Someone that we will eventually fall in love with, but only if we spend enough time with them. If not, you'll move on, and love someone else. Though, it will never be as strong."

"How can you tell if someone is your soul mate?"

"Because you'll feel comfortable around them right away, as I said. Then you'll fall in love with them quickly. Anyway, we're getting away from the main point. I can't let you see Ash anymore, you can't fall in love with him."

"But dad, I felt instantly connected with him. What if... What if we're different from everyone else, and we're soul mates?" May asked. Saying it made her heart pound, and she was fighting tears again.

"I don't care if you are," He said harshly. "Once you fall in love with your soul mate, that's it. You can't ever love anyone else, ever."

May's heart was beating faster against her chest, and butterflies were in the stomach. They weren't the kind of butterflies she got when talking to Ash, though. They were nervous butterflies, because all of this was serious, and she was worried for Ash.

"But..." May said, fear apparent in her voice. "What if it's already too late?"

Norman raised an eyebrow and his face was still pale. "What are you saying?"

May was shaking slightly now, traumatized slightly by the news of Ash being her soul mate. Now she felt more pain because she was away from him.

"It's too late, dad." She said, and a tear fell down her cheek. "I already love Ash. I love him."

Her dad didn't move for a moment. Then, he closed his eyes and sighed. It was a pained sigh, and May knew that she was hurting him. But, he was also hurting her. He was keeping her away from Ash, and that was causing her more pain than she'd ever felt. She knew without him saying it that, once you met and fell in love with your soul mate, you felt the need to be close to them. Once you got too far away, you felt so much pain, until you couldn't stand it anymore.

"You know I can't allow you to see him, May." He shook his head. May didn't notice, but the tears were falling freely down her face again now.

"Why not?" She asked, but it was a stupid question.

"We are at war with his kind, May. I forbid it, and so does everyone else. _Everyone._" He knew he was being harsh, but May needed to know that she couldn't see him. "Also, just because you are his soul mate, doesn't mean you are his. The chances are that his soul mate is someone of his own element. He can't love you back, May, it's impossible."

May's heart was crushed now, and she couldn't control her ragged sobs. She didn't mean to become so involved, but she had. She was not normal, she was different. Why couldn't she love someone of her own element, then everything could be peaceful and she wouldn't be so hurt? Ash was her soul mate now, and a water type. He was also far away, and she could feel it tugging at her, begging her to go back. It was as bad as not being able to breathe.

When the train pulled in at Petalburg city, May had stopped crying. Her eyes were still red and puffy, evidence that she had been crying. Her mouth was set straight, and she felt completely numb. When her father spoke to her, she couldn't hear a word she said. Her eyes were distant, just staring off, never looking the slightest bit happy.

She went on ahead, walking back to the gym. She didn't bother running away again while he was a distance from her, though she thought about it. He wasn't that far away from her though, and he would probably catch her. Then he'd just be mad again.

May finally reached her home and pushed open the door. Norman was quite far behind her now, so she pushed it shut again and turned. Her mother had rose and was standing by the doorway. May ran over to her mother, and wrapped her arms around her tightly. She felt the tears coming again but held them back. She had cried enough for one day.

"May." Caroline whispered and stroked her hair. Even though May was hurting, she was glad to be back with her mom, and for a moment, felt happy.

Her dad stepped in a few moments later and her parents exchanged a glance.

"May, we need to speak." Norman announced, and May pulled away from Caroline. She shot a curious and annoyed look at her dad, but followed him into his study anyway.

"May, we've decided something, we think it's best for you." Norman told her. Suddenly, she was frightened. The tone of his voice suggested that it was something terrible.

"What is it?" May asked carefully.

"We're going to send you to a public school."

May felt all of the air knocked out of her. "A public school? With other kids? Dad!"

"I know, I know. I can't teach you anymore May, I'm going to be too busy preparing things. I'm in charge of the fire army, you know."

"I know dad, but a public school?" She moaned. Things were just getting worse and worse.

"Stop complaining, May," He rubbed his temples as if he had a migraine. "I made sure you were in the same school as all of your friends, and there's going to be people making sure you don't run away."

May groaned loudly and put her head on the desk. She was still completely numb and aching from having to leave Ash. She had decided on the train that no matter what, she was going to find a way back to him. Now she was going to have to waste her time with school, and would never be able to escape.

* * *

Ash's eyes were cold and glassy. He had never felt so many emotions at once. Anger, hatred, sadness and heartbreak all swirled through him.

Once May was out of site, Ash had felt himself building up. He had to walk off into the forest. The first tree he focused on cracked and fell without anything touching it. Ash himself was surprised by this, but he knew why it was happening.

Then, he had found one of Harley's men outside of the cabin. He settled behind a tree and focused on the man. It was only a matter of seconds before the man's eyes went a light shade of blue, and he collapsed on the floor dead.

Now Ash was headed into the cabin, the way Harley had dragged him in. He approached the wall and punched the button that revealed the stairs. He had to let those other kids out, for them and for May. If May saw about it on the news, she'd know he was okay and he wasn't giving up. Somehow, he'd find his way back to her.

Ash was unafraid, and once the stairs had appeared, he marched down them. He felt numb, just as May had, and didn't care what happened while he was down there. He was going to tear the place apart, now that he'd learned how to control his powers almost completely.

Right away, he heard a man shout.

Misty had been sitting in her cell, bored out of her mind and upset. Ash, her soul mate, was gone. He had escaped along with the other rulers child, May. Now she was here alone and had no chance of escaping.

That was, until she heard the shout.

"Ash! Ash is back!"

Misty jumped up and ran to the bars. She could see right into the other room, where several men had gathered. Sure enough, she saw Ash come into view, and his face was completely blank.

She thought he was giving himself, handing himself back in, until the first man dropped dead.

Panic spread across the men and they were rushing into the other room, grabbing pokeballs and weapons, ready to attack Ash. More men were dropping dead now, and Misty didn't understand. Several men were lying still on the floor. They were dead, weren't they?

Everyone Ash looked at was dying. He'd mastered this power, whatever it was, and he was using it ruthlessly. In a way, it made Misty upset.

"Ash!" She shouted, without thinking. It broke his concentration, and he looked to her. A choking sensation came to her throat for a brief moment. It was the most pain she'd ever felt in her entire life. It felt as if her lungs were completely filled with water and she couldn't breathe. She thought she was going to die, until Ash realized what he was doing and desperately looked away, back at the men. Misty collapsed onto her cell floor and coughed violently. Just a couple more seconds, and she would have been dead. So that was what he was doing with those men? It was horrible...

Everything fell silent. All the guards that had been on patrol were dead. Ash was leaning back against the wall with his head in his hands. The thought was attacking him now. He had just killed people. He had murdered people...

Harley was at the door now, but Ash wasn't surprised to see him. He looked down at his dead men, then back up at Ash with a look of annoyance.

"You've certainly been experiencing some pain." Harley said, still inspecting the men on the floor. "Only a person that's been feeling strong emotions could do this."

Ash said nothing. He stared at Harley with hate in his eyes, but didn't kill him. Misty wondered why.

"Well it looks like I can't fight you. Here," He tossed Ash his keys. "Let them out."

"That's all you have to say?" Ash asked, surprised.

"Yes," Harley sighed. "Water and fire have gone to war now and they stopped caring about my antics. If I joined their war, my army would be dead within days. I boasted the numbers, I don't really have that many. I only have two hundred or so men. So, you win."

Ash watched him for a moment to see if he was completely serious. When it became clear that it was, Ash's gaze softened and he walked away, into the other room, and set off letting everyone out.

* * *

A dull pain filled May as she sat in her bedroom, unable to escape. Her dad had locked up the window, and when she had shouted about running away again, he'd locked her door. He told her that she'd only be there for a amount of time, because he couldn't let her leave.

But he couldn't watch her all day, could he? There had to be a time when no one was looking, and she could escape.

Now it occurred to her, that last time she ran away, she had a pretty solid reason. She wanted to help people, and she was planning on coming back home.

This time, though, she was planning on running away to be with Ash, and if she couldn't be with him here, she wouldn't come back at all.

"You okay in there?" Her father shouted in, but he didn't sound very concerned.

"No."

"May, you'll feel better when you start school and forget about him."

"I'm not going to your shitty public school."

She heard Norman sigh heavily.

"You'll be going to this school, it's not open for discussion."

"I won't go to that school!" May argued. "If you want me there you'll have to drag me there every day and watch me all the time because I'm always going to be trying to escape!"

"May, I absolutely forbid that you ever even try to," Norman warned her through the door. "You can't see that boy. It's illegal and stupid, you know that. Control yourself, it's just a boy."

_But you said it yourself dad, he's not just a boy, he's my soul mate._

"I don't care if you forbid it. You think I'll listen to you? I don't care if it's illegal. How can being in love be illegal? It's so wrong!" May continued to shout. "I can't believe it's even a law. I hate it. I hate you. Go away."

Norman sighed again and she heard his footsteps disappearing down the stairs. She lay back on her bed but didn't cry. She still felt that numb throbbing pain in the put of her stomach and in her heart, but it was accompanied by another feeling now. The feeling was hate, and it was directed right to Norman. He thought he was doing what was best for her, but he wasn't. What was best for her was Ash, and she knew that better than anyone. Her dad could never understand how much it hurt to be separated. He'd never know how much physical _pain _she felt. Somehow she was going to get to him, no matter what.

* * *

**So that's it for chapter 5. I would really appreciate it if you could review. It'd be nice, though it's a long shot, if I could reach 100 reviews on this fic. I'm now planning on making it a pretty damn long one, so it's possible. Thanks!**

**Until next time,**

**Ninja.**


	6. Marriage

**Thank you all for the reviews, and sorry this took so long to post. Fanfiction's being an ass to me and not letting me upload my chapters, for some reason. **

**Anyway, there is one thing I would like to ask, so I know how to write the rest. I would like to know how fucked up people would like this to get. I mean, I can do really fucked up, with perhaps death, or I could keep it mild. It'd be nice if people could tell me what they would prefer.**

**Also, there is some cussing in this chapter, so if that bothers ya, tell me and I won't put any more in. :3**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Ash, Harley and Misty stood outside the burning cabin, watching it fall to the ground. A strong gust blew Misty's hair in the wind and she sighed. Finally, everyone was free of that wretched place.

The only reason Harley hadn't ran away was because Ash threatened to kill him if he moved. Now Harley knew that Ash could do that, he didn't dare to move.

"What are you going to do now?" Misty asked Ash quietly. She noticed how his face turned sour but didn't ask about it.

"I don't know," Ash shrugged. "I'll go home, I guess."

"You don't sound too happy about that."

Ash chewed on his lip in a stressed way. "There's things I'd rather be doing."

Misty decided not to ask anymore questions, and watched the cabin burning down again. Soon, it completely collapsed.

"Obviously we can't destroy the underneath, but it's covered by the rubble," Ash said as he turned to Misty. "So, let's go."

"What are you going to do with Harley?"

"I can hear the police coming."

Sure enough, the police arrived just seconds later, quickly restraining Harley and shoving him into the police car. One of the officers walked over to Ash to ask him questions. Misty stepped back.

"What happened here?"

"I let everyone free and burned it down."

"How did you get past his men?"

"I killed them."

The police officer was rendered speechless. This fifteen year old kid couldn't really have killed that many men and managed to threaten Harley into giving up, could he?

"How did you kill them?"

"I used my elemental powers."

The guard ran his fingers through his hair and sighed over-dramatically. Ash continued to stare at the officer, still in a numb state after killing so many men.

"Well, I suppose you did the right thing kid, even if I don't quite understand how you did it." The officer put a hand on Ash's shoulder and started to walk with him. "All of those men would have been executed anyway. I suppose you should return to your mother now."

Ash was about to argue, when he realized that there was no point. What else could he do? He couldn't just go to Hoenn and walk into May's home. Her father would kill him. Ash had been certain that Norman would have killed him back in Sunyshore, had May not intervened. Anyway, going back to his house would be the best thing for him. He needed to forget about May, so that this pain that he felt would go away.

He nodded to the officer once and they walked away towards the ferry. Misty opened her mouth to say something as he passed, but shut it again. There'd be no point, Ash didn't love her.

* * *

May turned on the TV as she sat on the edge of her bed. She was so bored just sitting around in her room, and since she'd threatened to run away again, her dad wasn't going to let her out.

Right away, she flipped to the news channel, just in time to see the news cast announce that they'd just received breaking news.

She was instantly interested and turned the volume up. The screen flicked to an image of something burning, and people crowded around. It took a while for May to realize where it was.

The news crew were about to interview a girl, which May recognised as Misty. She had been the girl in love with Ash, and she had kissed him. For a short moment, May was jealous.

"What happened here?" May heard the man ask when she gathered her thoughts enough to listen.

"Ash Ketchum, the water rulers son, came in suddenly by himself."

May caught her breath and her heart skipped a beat. What the hell did he do that for? Was he even alive?

"Then the guards came rushing in and I honestly thought that Ash would die. But, before any of them got the chance to attack him, they started dropping dead and I realized that Ash was using his elemental powers to kill them almost instantly when he looked at them."

May's heart thudded against her chest and her breathing was slightly ragged. Ash had enough power to... kill people? In a way she was relieved, but she felt something else, something she couldn't quite place her finger on.

"And then Ash burned the place to the ground so that the rubble would cover the entrance to that place." Misty finished, and the crew stayed silent for a moment.

"And where is Ash now?" They asked her finally, and May knew that they wanted to ask him questions. Part of May wanted them to interview him, just so that she could hear his voice. Another part of her wanted them to leave him alone.

"Ash went home."

May felt the tears welling up again. He was going home and she'd never see him again. There was no way she'd ever, ever get into his home without some guards noticing her. Even if she did, they wouldn't be able to run away together. Where could they go?

So, May lay back on her bed and slowly cried herself to sleep. It felt as if while she slept, part of her died, and she didn't wake properly until three months later.

* * *

**Three Months Later**

May's alarm sounded by her bed and she reached out to bash it until it stopped. Birds chirped outside her bedroom window, and she only wished they'd shut up.

She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She wore a bored frown and she stood and walked to her dressing table. She looked, as usual, like a zombie. She barely even tried anymore. Her face was still beautiful, but her hair was a mess and her eyes looked tired.

She stepped into the shower and let it relax her for a short while. Once she was out she wrapped herself in a bathrobe and went back into her room, since her bathroom was an en-suite, attached to her bedroom.

Her father knocked on her door slowly and she sighed heavily.

"Yes?" She called out, and she heard him shuffle around.

"I need to speak to you urgently, come see me in my study." He ordered her and she heard him walk away. Yet again she sighed and got busy putting her usual outfit on, brushing her hair and tying the bandanna around it. She was dreading going to talk to her father. He called on her every few weeks, and it was only ever to give her news. It would be things like, her grades were slipping and the school was complaining, or that she'd been excluded for misbehaving. One time, he called her out to tell her that they'd won a battle at Viridian City. That only upset her though, because Ash was over there. She was killing his people, and he was killing hers. It was wrong.

Thinking about Ash caused her stomach to twist and she hurried up even more. She decided that it would be better to just get it over with. She walked down the corridor and pushed his door open without knocking. He was sitting at his desk, waiting, and she took a seat opposite him.

He looked annoyed as she started swinging on the chair, clearly not interested. It was a Saturday, and she should be able to do what she liked. He pushed it back though and composed himself as he prepared to talk.

"May, I suggest you listen. This is a very important thing I'm about to discuss with you, okay?" He talked to her as if she were an infant. She stopped swinging on the chair and faced him with curiosity. His expression was stern.

"Before I tell you, I want you to know that I'm not against you, I'm just doing what's best for you, and what's best for our community. Promise me that you won't argue until you hear my reasons."

May nodded once, but she knew now that the news, or whatever it was, was very serious. She also knew that it was going to be something she didn't like.

"Okay." He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes before he started. "Grass and Electric, the other two major communities other than water, have agreed on changing a law. It's the law about interacting with people of different types."

May's face instantly lit up and her heart sped up. A huge grin spread across her face. She'd never been so happy in her entire life, and it was the first time that she'd smiled since she left him. If the law was changed, then she could... She could go to him, and be with him. It wouldn't be illegal, it would be allowed.

"But there's a catch."

May's smile disappeared quickly but she said nothing.

"Grass wants to unite with us in this war, and we've agreed for you to be wed to their son."

May felt her world crumble at those few words. Her eyes grew wide and she struggled to hold back tears that pricked at her eyes. Her heart had slowed, and now it was broken again.

"They want me to... what...?"

"I know it's hard, but this could be very beneficial. You're 16 now, and so is he. He's 17. He's lovely, you'll like him."

"You said it yourself dad!" She was arguing with him now. After all, he'd told her his reasons. "We hate each other, we can't even feel happy around them! You know that Ash was the only exception!"

"You don't have to like each other, May, and it's not up to you. You have to."

"I don't have to do anything!" May shouted and stood up. "You've never been able to make me do anything! I won't marry anyone!"

She slammed her fist down on his desk.

"May, you have no choice. He is coming here tomorrow to meet you."

"Well then tell him that he can fuck off!" She shouted even louder, showing her temper. Her dad winced at her language, but ignored it. "I won't do it, and that's that!"

She turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Once she was back in her room she slammed her own door and collapsed against it. Secretly, she knew she couldn't do anything about it.

The tears were falling down her face rapidly now. Grabbing the TV remote, she turned on the television.

She only cried out more when she saw that the news cast was announcing her wedding. Somewhere out there, Ash would be finding out about it. Though he'd probably forgotten about her by now. Nothing was going right for May, he life was a mess. She'd gotten depressed once she'd started school and kids only asked about being locked up. She was traumatized by it, she was heartbroken from missing Ash, and her relationship with her family was falling apart. She felt trapped in her own home, and now she had to marry a stranger. She was suffering from depression badly now, and she refused help.

May had been having a thought. She was allowing herself a long while to mill over it, but that long while was coming to an end. If she couldn't have the one she loved, her life was going no where, and she had nobody to care for, what was the point in being there? May thought that there really was no point in living anymore.

* * *

"Are they crazy?" A maid in the hallway asked as she passed the door. "Fire and grass marrying? How absurd!"

Ash stood up slowly and walked over to the door. He leaned out, watching the two women walk down the corridor. He'd heard what they were talking about, and now he had to know.

He walked down the hallway calmly and followed the corridors until he reached one of the living rooms, and met his mothers gaze. He stepped into the room and stood by the door.

"Ash?"

"Hey, what's going on?" He asked her softly and walked over to her. She patted the space beside her and he sat down.

"It's completely mad, Ash." She answered vaguely and shook her head. "Fire's leader is an absolute idiot."

Ash started to worry when she mentioned fire. May was fire, meaning she was most likely involved in whatever was going on. For a moment, he wondered if she remembered him, or ever missed him. Then his mother was speaking again and the thought was waved away.

"I feel sorry for them both."

"Why? What's going on?" Ash asked again, trying to sound calm rather than worried like he was.

"Fire's daughter and Grass' son are going to be wed." She said calmly, and Ash stopped breathing for a moment. He felt his entire heart shatter and he struggled to hold it back.

"They're getting married?" He choked out, hoping his mother wouldn't notice.

"Yes. Norman thinks it'll become some sort of advantage. Also, they're lifting the law that says we can't interact with each other."

With that, Ash's mood lightened. He held his breath for a moment before daring to ask:

"When do they lift that law?"

His mother sighed. "When he proposes I suppose. They're acting as if this isn't a big deal at all, but it is. This law is huge and they're just knocking it away. Whatever. I don't want to be a part of this charade."

"So, when does he propose?" Ash asked, and hoped his mother didn't notice how interested he really was.

"Tomorrow, I think."

Ash considered this for a moment. _If the law will lifted, then maybe I should tell her about May, being my soul mate..._

Before Ash had time to tell her, she spoke again.

"While we're on the subject of marriage, I've found you another girl."

Ash sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You've brought me someone new everyday. It's so annoying, mom."

"Ash, you're 16. It's time. Anyway, I think this girl might be the one."

Surprisingly, his mother had never said that about any of the other girls. It didn't matter though, because Ash couldn't even look at any of them. Of course they were pretty, but he couldn't even be friends with them. They weren't his kind of people.

"But," His mother started and and he turned to her, "She's not here to try and win you over. Her father was attending a meeting here and because of the war he can't get back to Sinnoh yet. She's not even one of the girls I considered, so she doesn't know about it. It might help you bond with her, if you'll try for me."

Ash was relieved that the girl didn't know about his mothers stupid traditions. At least he'd be able to talk to her without feeling completely awkward.

"You should find her around the guest rooms somewhere, maybe in the kitchen."

Ash nodded and left her alone. He was completely disturbed by the fact that Norman was going to make May marry a grass type. He knew how much May hated contact with other elements. Except, she'd been different around him. Ash still didn't know why, while she did.

He tried to ignore the dull pain throbbing in his stomach from thinking of May, and turned the corner that lead to the kitchens.

As he did, he almost bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" The person shouted, and stepped back. "Oh, hey!"

Ash looked up and his heart quickened. It was her, the girl that his mother wanted him to talk to. She was stunningly beautiful, and if Ash hadn't already found his soul mate, he might have been instantly smitten. Her blue hair was down, falling freely over her shoulders. She wore a black dress that was rather short, and a beanie was pulled absently over her head.

"Uh, hey." Ash said and smiled nervously. He noticed how the girl didn't seem nervous at all, but couldn't bring himself to feel the same way.

"You're Ash, right?" She asked, but didn't wait for his answer. "I've heard so much about you, and how powerful you are. I think you're great."

Ash blushed a little and smiled. "Thanks. Nice to meet you," He held his hand out for her to shake.

She took it, also smiling, and answered, "Nice to meet you too, I'm Dawn."

"That's a pretty name." Ash complimented her, not feeling shy anymore. Dawn smiled nervously.

"Thanks. So... I hear your mother's making you marry someone."

Ash tensed up. So she did know about it after all. Great.

"Yeah, and I hate it. Well, so far I do anyway."

"And she sent you here to talk to me, didn't she?"

"Yeah." Ash admitted, surprised that Dawn had figured it out so quickly. "I hope that's okay."

Dawn blushed lightly. "Yeah, it's okay. Wanna go sit somewhere?"

"Sure." Ash nodded. Dawn led him to her room. He hesitated for a moment but went in anyway. Once inside, he took a seat opposite her.

"So, what did your mom say about me?" Dawn finally asked as she twirled a ring nervously around her finger.

"She said that she thought you were 'the one'." Ash said with an embarrassed blush.

"'The one'?" Dawn laughed lightly. "That was nice of her to say, I'm glad she likes me."

"Yeah, but sometimes that's not a good thing." Ash said with a sour expression. Dawn frowned.

"It's okay, I like you. You don't have to feel forced around me."

Ash sat up. "Thanks."

"I envy you, Ash." Dawn said with a smile. "Everyone loves you."

"Not everyone..." Ash shook his head. "I'm not proud about killing those men."

Just as Dawn was about to answer, another boy stepped into the room. He was two years older than Ash, eighteen years old. With a sour expression he inspected the room, then the two teens sitting on the edge of her bed.

Dawn jumped as the door opened and instinctively clung onto Ash's arm, which he hardly noticed. The boy that had walked into his room was his brother, Gary.

"Didn't realize you'd chosen already." Gary said with a smirk, eyeing how close Ash and Dawn were. Dawn caught her breath and moved away.

"I haven't chosen anybody." Ash said, matter-of-factly. "And I won't choose anyone."

Dawn looked up at Ash as he stared defiantly at his brother. She hardly realized she was gawking.

"You know no one's going to accept that as an answer." Gary leaned against the door frame. "And I don't get why you won't tell me who you like."

"Go away, Gary." Ash hissed, and Gary shrugged. He pushed himself away from the door and walked away without saying another word. Dawn still looked up at Ash, and her smile disappeared.

"You like someone? Why won't you tell Gary?"

Ash sighed. It was the kind of sigh that convinced Dawn that Ash was in a lot of pain. Though Ash was trying to feel numb.

"I can't tell him because he wouldn't understand. Nobody would understand."

"You've found your soul mate, eh? Well, I guess I can't change your mind."

Ash shot Dawn a confused look and she quickly explained.

"Admittedly, my dad came here so I'd meet you, 'cause he wants me to marry you. I've told him he's mad. I don't agree with the arranged marriage thing either, especially not at 16. But, I wouldn't of minded this..."

She trailed off and twisted a ring she wore around her finger. "What's she like?"

"That's the thing." Ash said and shook his head. "If I told you what she was like, you'd think I was mad."

"Why would I?" Dawn asked, blinking a few times. "Ash, I wouldn't judge you, no matter what."

"Well, uh..." Ash blushed lightly. "She's... Fire."

"Wait, wait." Dawn shook her head in disbelief. "Your soul mate isn't the same element as you?"

"I know, it's weird. I knew it as soon as I met her though, Dawn. There's another major problem, and that's _who _she is. She's the fire rulers daughter, May."

Dawn gasped. "Princess May? Ash, that's your enemies daughter! No wonder you look so sad when you talk about her."

"Yeah," Ash turned to her. "But soon there'll be no law against it, and I'll go see her, no matter what."

"Ash," Dawn took his hand. "Come with me, I wanna show you something."

Dawn took Ash out of her room, and lead him outside. As they walked, she held his hand tightly, and made sure no one saw them. Ash didn't bother asking why, though he was curious.

Dawn pulled him behind Ash's home, to the acres of land that his mother owned. In one of the fields, a helicopter sat alone, randomly.

"Wha-" Ash started to ask, but Dawn just squeezed his hand tighter.

"It's my dads. He brought it here himself. He's been showing me how to fly it since I was six." Dawn started to walk towards it, taking Ash with her, until she stood right in front of it. She reached out and touched its metal body. It was big, and it almost intimidated Ash.

"It's really awesome, Dawn, but... Why are we out here?"

Dawn turned to him, her face suddenly full of seriousness. She took a deep breath, grasped his hand, and spoke.

"Run away with me."

Ash caught his breath. Dawn's eyes sparkled with passion. She was serious. His heart thudded.

"R-run? Where? I-In the helicopter?" Ash stuttered. Dawn nodded.

"Anywhere, wherever you want to go. I'll take you anywhere. Just, come with me?" She was pleading now, and the grip on his hand was relentless.

"But, why?" He asked, blinking.

"My dad and your mom wants me to be with you, but neither of us want that right now. I hate being trapped and made to do things I don't want to. I'll take you to May, we can go to Hoenn. No problem."

Suddenly, a wicked smirk appeared on her face. She narrowed her eyes and slowly led him around to the helicopter's door.

"I can fly this, and I can steal this. By the time he realizes it's gone, we'll be long gone."

Ash lowered his eyes and twisted his face. It took him a few moments to compose himself, and decide. It shouldn't of been an easy decision, but it was.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Ash said. "I trust you."

* * *

May stared into the eyes of the boy she was meant to marry, and tried to make the glare as nasty as possible. Their parents were chatting, but they were just staring. He looked calm, and not annoyed at all. She looked ready to tear someone's face off.

"We'll give you two time to get to know each other, then?" Norman looked to the two teens.

"Fuck off." May crossed her arms. Drew's mother looked down at her with wide eyes and an appalled expression. Norman smiled sheepishly.

"She'll lighten up, I promise." Norman told her as he ushered her out of the room. When he shut the door, he turned the lock. He'd locked them in.

Drew sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Well, that was the biggest load of shit I've ever heard."

May blinked. "What?"

"Oh, c'mon. You didn't expect me to be okay with this, did you?" He glared at her. She glared back.

"You make me feel sick."

"You make me wanna jump out of that window."

"Guess we're even then." May sat as far away from him as she could, and turned on the news, something she did regularly now.

As it had been earlier, the news was talking about May and Drew's wedding, and how great it was going to be for the community. May was ready to turn it off and smash the remote up with rage until the screen changed.

"Breaking news now from the Ketchum household in Kanto. It seems something is going on there. Let's see if we can go live..."

May was alert. The news cast was disorientated, meaning something was going on there, and it was happening now. Drew raised an eyebrow at how she stared at the screen, but said nothing.

Suddenly, the screen was filming a man shouting, waving his arms, in the middle of a field. A woman stood screaming and shouting, maybe crying. News cast stood filming, trying to get a shot.

The man's face was suddenly more visible.

"My daughter, my own daughter! What the fuck!"

May was really worried now, as the camera turned to a boy around eighteen years old, Ash's brother. But, where was Ash?

"Excuse me, what's going on here?" An interviewer asked him. Gary looked shocked, to say the least, but remained calm with his arms crossed.

"Dawn has stolen her dad's helicopter and done off with it." Gary replied. May relaxed a little. Who was Dawn? Was that it?

"And she took my brother too."

What?

"They ran away together?"

Gary flexed his jaw and sighed. "Yeah."

May's heart thumped against her chest. She continued to look at the screen, but she'd blocked out the sound. Ash had run away with a girl called Dawn in a helicopter? He'd forgotten about May, she knew it.

May was trying her hardest not to cry. She had been away from him for three months, and they'd only known each other for a week. She should of known he didn't care, but she did, and now her heart was so broken.

She gripped the bed covers in her fists and squeezed without noticing.

"Uh, are you okay?" Drew asked her, standing up as if she carried a dangerous disease and was going to give it to him.

"No, I'm fucking not okay. I wish you'd go away!" May shouted.

"Hey, I wish I could go away."

May took a few deep breaths. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound nasty."

Drew laughed a little. "Ha, you said I made you sick!"

May's face lightened a bit. "Oh, yeah. I'm not good around people, really."

"So, what's made you so upset?" Drew asked and pointed to the television, which was still blaring away.

"Everything about that." May answered truthfully, and Drew asked nothing more. Little did May know, that soon, a helicopter would be getting ready to land, in the middle of an old field close by.

* * *

The helicopter stopped, and stood still, a statue in the field. Dawn turned to face Ash, who's face was eager. She stepped away and took his hand, leading him out again. One they stepped onto the field, Dawn smirked and pulled Ash on, until they were running in the direction of the forest.

"What about the helicopter?" Ash called as they were running hand in hand.

"I don't care about it." Dawn called back, and pushed her way into the trees. "It's dark."

They stopped, and she was correct. It was getting darker, and it was getting too late to go to May now.

Dawn collapsed onto the grass when they found a clearing. Ash sat next to her, his mind racing.

"When you get to May, what are you going to do?" She asked once she'd caught her breath.

"I don't know." Ash admitted.

"You know that your enemies. You're at war. Her dad would kill you if he saw you with her."

"... I know." Ash nodded, trying to ignore the pain in his stomach.

"So why are you wasting your time on her?" Dawn asked, moving closer, her eyes full of something Ash had never seen before. "You're only hurting yourself more."

"I don't know, I can't help it."

Dawn was right beside him now, and she was looking up at him again. He looked down at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. He could of moved away, but he didn't.

"Yes, you can." Dawn spoke quietly now. If he had sense, he would of realized that she was flirting.

"I-" Ash tried to answer, but she didn't let him. In the darkness, before he could react, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. It was only a brief kiss, but he still felt something, more that he felt with Misty. When she pulled away, he merely stared at her. He didn't know what to say, or what to think.

After a while, he lay back on the grass. She lay against him, putting her head on his chest. He thought about it, but didn't protest. It wasn't uncomfortable.

* * *

"See ya, Drew." May said as he left. Once he was gone, she pushed the door shut and collapsed against it. No matter how much she bashed on her door, her dad didn't come. She had spent the night sleeping in her bed, while Drew slept on the couch in her room. They didn't talk much, but she didn't hate him. She just didn't like him. They'd never be friends, and they'd definitely never be lovers. Not in the slightest.

As she lay back against her door, May wondered where Ash was. She wondered if he was with that girl, Dawn, whoever she was. She wondered if he would still care about her, or if he even remembered her. She wondered if she would ever see him again.

She shook her head and stood up. Just as she held her hand out to balance herself, something tapped, and she froze.

After a few moments, the tapping came again. It was her window. Somebody was on the small roof outside of her room, tapping on her window.

May figured it was Daisy, and calmed herself down. She turned and locked the door, so her dad wouldn't walk in on her conversation with her, then walked to the window.

Even though it was just Daisy, May took a moment to compose herself, before sighing and pulling the curtains back. Except it wasn't daisy.

* * *

**So as you can see I am moving quickly with this and I'm unsure if people like the way it's going or not. Please don't forget to review, though you don't have to.**

**Also, remember that question I put at the top of the chapter!**

**Until next time, **

**Ninja.**


	7. Reunion

**Thank you all for your reviews. They really do help!**

**Anyway, I am aware that some things don't make sense and they suck. This is probably because I've never planned out any of my fics before writing them. I know I should, but I don't. So, some things might not make sense.**

**So the real shit starts to happen as of this chapter, and it will get more fucked up, I promise you.**

* * *

May stared into her eyes, too shocked to move, and slightly scared of the girl. She couldn't of been any older than May, but she was standing on the small roof outside of May's window, and she looked weary.

"May, right?" Dawn asked, trying not to sound how she felt.

"I, uh, yeah..." May stuttered. The girl rubbed her arms coldly. "Oh, um, do you want to come in, or...?"

"Nah." The girl shook her head, confusing May. "But I brought you a present."

May tried to remain calm as the girl lowered herself and held her hand out over the edge of the small roof. May was beginning to wonder if she had some sort of psychopath outside of her window. But, the girl wasn't mad, as May noticed. She pulled her hand back up, and someone else's was in it. May stepped back.

Then she pulled him up, and he appeared over the side of the roof, in front of her window. Ash stood and brushed himself off, before looking over at May. She was standing there, a few paces away from him, with wide eyes and an unreadable expression. A wave of joy washed over him, and he barely noticed Dawn jumping down to give them space.

Ash wondered whether May was happy, or angry. He struggled to breath steadily as his heart pounded. He took a few steps towards to her window, and stopped before it. She stayed still, staring.

"Hey, May..." He said with a lopsided smile. She didn't answer. He noticed a tear sliding down her cheek, and frowned.

"Whoa, whoa." He shook his head and stepped into her room, throwing his arms around her before she could stop him. May felt herself getting choked up as she felt that familiar warm sensation in the pit of her stomach, along with the butterflies and pounding heart. She cried happily onto his shirt.

"Ash, I thought I'd never see you again." May spoke into his chest. "I hate my dad for taking me away from you."

"I was scared that you'd forgotten about me." He smiled. "You really liked me that much?"

May blushed, but her face was already hidden. She tried to come up with an explanation. "Oh, uh, I mean, we're something special right, never happened before?"

She mentally scolded herself for saying that.

"Yeah..." Ash pulled away from her. She looked up at him lovingly, but he didn't pick up on that. "I hear you're getting married."

May's eyes flashed with anger. "No, I'm not. I've been talking to him, and I hate him. He hates me too. Plus, my dad knows that I'd never be able to like him."

"How come?"

May's eyes wandered. Why did he have to ask that? "Well... Because I've already found my soul mate."

Ash's mind raced. He knew there was a chance that it was him, but that chance was slim. Too slim to consider. He'd heard somewhere about her going to a public school, it was probably someone there. Still, even if she only thought of him as a friend, he was a hundred times happier around her than when he was trapped in his home.

"May." Ash said, and took hold of her hand. She blushed, but he didn't notice. "Come with me."

"W-what? Come where?"

"Anywhere, everywhere. Away with me."

May needed to sit down. She collapsed back on the edge of her bed, and stared at the wall. Everything was happening too quickly for her. Ash watched her with pleading, desperate eyes.

"Ash I..." She bit her lip and ignored the pain in her heart. "I can't. My dad... he would kill you. Next time he won't just take me away. We're supposed to be enemies, Ash..."

"I don't care if he comes for us." Ash took May's hand again. "I won't let him take you away."

May shook her head and stood up again to face him. She wanted to run, she really did, but it was too dangerous. Her dad would look for her, and kill Ash. It wasn't safe outside either, with the war and bombings going on.

"No, Ash, I-"

Suddenly, Ash moved closer to her, and she found herself backing up against the wall. Ash put his arms either side of her on the wall, pinning her there. She breathed heavily, and she was so close that he could feel her breath on him.

"Please, May. I don't want to leave again without you."

May opened her mouth to argue, but she was cut off. Usually, when Ash felt emotions building up, he could use his power to release them. Here, in May's room, he couldn't. He couldn't stop himself from leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.

May stopped breathing for a moment as she felt his lips crash against hers. Her heart was beating so fast, she was sure she'd have a heart attack. She finally managed to close her eyes, and loosen up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pushed her hand through his hair, knocking his hat onto the ground. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her body against his, and she pressed as close to him as she could. They started to move towards her bed, to sit as they continued to kiss. They collapsed back onto May's bed, and May opened her eyes for a moment. Ash leaned over her, still crushing her lips to his. She felt so full of passion and desire that she couldn't stop. She pressed herself desperately to him, and she would of for much longer, had there not been a knock on the door.

Ash was instantly away from her, backing away from the bed towards the window. He glanced at her once, but all she could do was look back as he hopped out of the window and pushed it shut behind him.

"May?" Norman called in, but May didn't answer. She sat against her headboard, trying to catch her breath, wearing a stupid grin. Ash had kissed her. She loved him so much, she wanted to be close to him now, and all the time.

She noticed his hat lying on the ground, and picked it up. He'd be back. She clutched it to her chest for a moment before tucking it behind her pillow.

"May, can I come in?"

"No!" She shouted, but really she was elated. "Go away."

She'd not been this happy in months, not since the last time she was with him. She had told herself that she needed to forget about Ash, but she just couldn't. She knew it was forbidden for them to be together, and what they had been doing earlier was extremely illegal. Nobody could of guessed May's story.

She heard her dad sigh and walk away, and she curled up on her bed. She decided she would not leave her room until he came up to see her, in case she missed him. She would lie waiting forever, if she had to.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't stop herself from sleeping. She drifted off soon after lying down, but Ash didn't come to her window.

* * *

May woke with a start to a bang outside. She sat up but froze. Her room was completely black, since she'd slept until night. It had to be around 2am.

After a few moments, May's hearing adjusted, and she could hear it. It sounded like a riot outside. People were screaming, several bangs occurred, and an alarm was ringing out. May recognised it instantly. It was the bombing siren. Petalburg was being bombed.

May jumped up and ran over to the window. With shaking hands and her heart hammering in her chest, she pushed the curtains aside. Just as she did, a building in the distance exploded, setting another line of buildings on fire.

She was immediately at the door, stumbling nervously with the lock and pushing it open. She burst into the hallway and ran down the stairs. She ignored everything until she was out of her door and running down the street. She almost felt numb, running among the crowd of people. Several people that recognised her tried to grab her arm and take her with them, but she pulled away from everyone. After running for a few minutes, she stopped in the middle of a street which had been blown to pieces. Rubble was scattered around the road an all the buildings were now just a heap of junk.

"Ash!" She shouted, "Ash, can you hear me!?"

She'd saw him running down here just a few hours earlier, when he'd left her room. She had noticed the direction he'd gone. He had to be around here somewhere.

"Ash!" She shouted again. By now, that street was completely clear. May was reckless, standing alone in the middle of a city that was being attacked, and only caring about a boy who's mother had caused it all.

"May!"

She caught her breath and turned. He was at the end of the street, standing watching her with the same expression on his face. If the city had not been being bombed, maybe he would have felt nervous about speaking to her.

May's face lit up as she began to run to him. But out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something and stopped. She only had time to blink once before it blew, and the force of the blast lifted her off her feet. She heard Ash calling her name and felt airy as she flew across the street. Then, as she landed roughly in the rubble, everything went black and cold.

* * *

The hospital was full. People were coming in every second, bringing loved ones that had been injured of hurt. Ash struggled to hold down his rage. People were hurt, and people were dying, and it was his mother that had caused it all. She was killing good, innocent people. Half the people in Petalburg were not even fire. Most of them were, sure, but there were also water types. She could of killed more of her own people, for all she knew.

Also, Ash knew that she had bombed May's house. May's family could have been dead, and all her things destroyed, for all he knew.

It was hard to ignore the looks people gave him as they realised who he was, and who she was. He held her close to him as he ran in. He didn't care what people thought, he only wanted to save her.

As soon as he entered, all hell was let loose.

"It's him!" Someone shouted, and police officers that had been keeping things under control surrounded him.

"Put your hands in the air!" They shouted, wagging their guns in his direction. He stood defiantly still with her in his arms.

"Please, she's really hurt, she needs to be seen now." He pleaded, and the officers realised just who he was holding. One officer stepped forward and took her away from him in one big swipe and ran off down the corridor. Ash shouted and followed, pushing past people. By the time he reached her, she was lying in a hospital bed and several doctors were around her, attaching wires to her and stitching her up. He covered his mouth with his hand as he struggled to control his emotions.

The doctors came out, and Ash was sitting against the wall, with his head in his hands. One of the doctors stopped and looked down.

"What are you doing here, son of Delia?" He asked, and Ash looked up. His eyes were tired, and his face was full of stress.

"I ran away from home so I could be with May. Happy?"

The doctor looked shocked for a moment, but it disappeared just as quick.

"That's impossible. You cannot like May, because she is fire, and you are water." He said matter-of-factly.

Ash laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought, but I must be strange. I love her."

The doctor only blinked and stared, unable to say anything.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ash finally asked, breaking the silence. The doctor nodded simply. Ash sighed happily and the doctor scurried off. Ash decided that he didn't care whether the doctor told anybody or not. Ash had already thoroughly embarrassed himself by not being able to control himself and kissing her. No doubt she didn't like him back, yet he still did it. He was so ashamed of himself that he never planned on going back. It would kill him, but it would be better for her. She probably hated him.

Telling himself that he couldn't just leave without seeing her, he lifted himself up and walked into her room. The hospital was so busy that no one had handed him in yet, and no one tried to stop him.

She was fine, accept for a few bruises and a gash on her leg. She lay still, and they hadn't bothered changing her. They were too busy, even if she was the rulers daughter.

He sat on the chair by her bed and stared down at her. He wondered if she was sleeping, or in a coma. Nobody had told him.

He got his answer quickly when her eyes fluttered open. He pulled his hand away from where it had been laying on her bed and blushed bright red. He didn't think she'd wake up. Now he couldn't get away. She looked around as if she were dreaming before her eyes landed on him and she eased. Slowly, she reached out her arm and grabbed his hand, making him go even more red.

"What happened?" She asked groggily and pulled her hand away to rub her eyes with it. Ash found that he was really nervous to talk to her. What if she thought he was stupid? What if she hated him? When he didn't answer, she stopped rubbing her eyes and looked to him.

"What's going on?"

"You were knocked out when one of the buildings blew up, so I brought you here..." He answered, but refused to look at her.

"Oh... Thank you Ash." She said, and moved. She winced in pain. "Um... About last night..."

Ash tensed up. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that." Ash shook his head. May opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "It was just me being curious about what would happen, it was an accident. Sorry." He spat out and rose from his chair. May's mouth hung open, but he ignored her and left the room.

"An... Accident?" May asked herself, and felt the tears threatening to fall. When he'd said that, she'd felt her heart break. He only did it because he was curious. Her mouth twitched with anger for a moment, and she clenched her fist. That wasn't fair. He couldn't just kiss her for a test and then tell her it meant nothing.

She sobbed for a moment to herself, but pulled herself together when somebody burst into her room. She didn't recognise her for a moment, but then she knew it was the girl that had been with Ash the other night.

"May, right? Yeah, uh, you should probably get the fuck up and come with me." She said in a demanding tone. "I mean, now."

"Wait a second." May held up her hands. "Why should I come with you?"

"Because you're going to be taken if you don't. Have you not seen the news lately?"

"No." May said simply. "What are you talking about?"

Dawn sighed and smashed a button on the television. The TV turned on, showing the streets of Petalburg full of people, smashing windows and throwing things. Occasionally, there'd be a dead person, from one of the bombs. May struggled to remain calm as she watched. The screen flipped to the image of a woman, that May recognised as Ash's mother.

"My son was spotted by the Maple residence in Petalburg City. So if you will not give him back, I will take him back, and I will take your daughter too. We will get her, no matter what. We will come and fucking take her from you."

The TV was knocked off when something caused a bang somewhere in the hospital. May was suddenly alert and terrified. She swung her legs over the side of her bed, trying to ignore the pain it brought her. She was being chased now.

"Come on." The girl hurried her. May managed to stand and walk, but she couldn't run. It caused her too much pain.

"You're going to have to run!" The girl shouted as they left the room. Nurses were running around, some frightened, some screaming. May watched in terror, then began to run down the corridor. She stumbled a few times and almost fell, but she kept herself up.

As she reached the reception, Ash came into view. She almost called to him, then she spotted the men around him and froze. Ash's mother already had him.

"Where's the girl?" One asked him, but he stood still, not answering. Would he tell them, or would she be able to slip away?

"Where's the girl?" He repeated, and held up a gun. May covered her mouth in an attempt not to gasp. Things shouldn't have been this violent... Over her...

When Ash didn't answer again, the man launched forward and grabbed Ash's shirt.

"Stop it!" May shouted and ran in. "Leave him alone!"

The guard let go of Ash's shirt. Ash turned to her, with so much sadness in his eyes that May almost cried. The guard approached her, so she turned and ran. It was so painful again, she barely managed to do it. Then Ash appeared by her side, with something in his hand. She was so terrified, she didn't notice what it was.

They ran down a set of stairs, almost tripping, and Ash grabbed her hand. If they hadn't been being chased, May might of blushed. Right now, she only wanted to get away.

Ash led her down the corridor towards a window. He picked up a chair and threw it through, smashing it easily.

May clambered through the window before he even told her to. She heard the two of them following, but didn't stop to wait. She ran out onto the street, where people were carrying things they'd stolen from shops.

"Stop, May!" She heard the girl shout. "If they recognise you, they'll hand you in because they're scared."

"This way." Ash ordered, and led them down a hole in the pavement where a bomb had blown. The streets were a complete mess, it was like an apocalypse movie, but they had to ignore it. They entered a pipe and crawled through it. At the end, they emerged onto another street. This street was quieter, so they could walk out and climb up onto the road.

May stopped and put her hands on her knees. She was in extreme pain, and she was exhausted.

"Why don't I just hand myself over? If they would hand me over, they obviously don't care. I'm just causing trouble, this would all be over if I just gave myself up."

"No," Dawn said, before Ash could say anything. "They would give you up because they're scared. They all look up to you, but they're scared for their life."

"You won't hand yourself over." Ash said, and got closer to her. She looked up at him, not sure what to say. "I'll protect you, I promise."

"We don't have time for this." Dawn reminded them before May could say anything.

"Where are we going to go?" May asked, looking between Dawn and Ash.

"Anywhere." Ash said. "Anywhere to get away from my mothers men."

"We need to find shelter for tonight." Dawn suggested. "Maybe in that house."

She pointed at an abandoned house that had only been slightly damaged by the blasts. It was completely empty, and would provide them with shelter. The guards would be looking though, it'd be impossible for May to sleep.

"Okay, let's go." Ash said, and made his way to the house. May followed, always looking around to make sure no one was watching them. Once they were at the house, Dawn pushed the door open and they entered.

Dawn immediately sat on the sofa, sighing heavily as the weight was taken off her feet. May copied her, collapsing on another sofa. Ash sat beside her, still tense and worried.

_It was just me being curious about what would happen. It was an accident._

May's anger suddenly returned and she looked away. He noticed and bit his lip, wondering whether to ask her what was wrong or not.

Within ten minutes, Dawn was asleep, curled up on the sofa and making slight mumbling noises. Ash sighed and smiled over at her, making May's stomach twist.

"Why do they want me?" May asked eventually, staring out the window at the pitch black sky.

"You know." Ash said. "You're destined to be the most powerful person alive, or something like that."

May rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I can't do shit. You can kill people just by glaring at them."

"No, only sometimes." Ash said, turning to glare at her. "And that's not a power I'm proud of. I almost killed Misty."

"Whatever." May waved her hand, annoying him. "How'd you learn it?"

"It happens when I feel a lot of emotion, okay? I can't control it."

"I've felt a lot of emotion before and nothing has happened to me."

"I don't know." Ash said, still glaring at her. She turned to meet his glare. "I can't help you with that."

"Well that's the thing I need help with, nothing else."

"Oh, so you could survive by yourself then, all alone?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think you could. You should be glad that I'm going against my own mother for you."

May stood up suddenly, and clenched her fists.

"I thought we were friends, but you're just an asshole." She snapped, out of pain and tiredness. She was groggy, she didn't know what she was saying. She didn't know how much she was upsetting him.

"May, I-"

"I'm going to go." May said, and started to leave. She stopped when Ash jumped up and grabbed her wrists.

"No, May, you'll get yourself killed. You need rest, you need us." Ash told her. She stared at him, saying nothing. "And I need you."

May continued to stare. Inside, she felt butterflies in her stomach, evidence that she was madly in love with him, and she wished it would go away. Her lips curled into a frown.

"O-okay." She said stubbornly and stepped away. She turned and walked into a different room, leaving Ash standing there. He mimicked her frown and sat down again, burying his head in his hands. She hated him, and he loved her. He couldn't have her.

"You alright?" Dawn whispered, but never moved. Ash jumped a little.

"Yeah."

"Liar." Dawn rolled over to face him and opened one eye. "You love her, don't you?"

"What? N-No, of course I don't."

"You really need to work on your lying." Dawn yawned and smiled. "You're something special, loving a fire girl. It's a real shame too."

With that, Dawn yawned again and fell asleep. Ash brought his knees up to his chest and sat alone, staring out of the window. Hundreds of questions and thoughts swirled through his head, but there was only one answer. He would have to get over her.

* * *

The next morning, May was the first awake. She went straight into the room that Ash and Dawn had stayed in, to see him sitting on the couch, with his arm around her shoulder, his head resting on hers, asleep. She froze.

_Is this some sort of fucking joke?_

Dawn's head snapped up suddenly, also waking Ash. He rubbed his eyes groggily, but Dawn was completely awake.

"What happened? How did I get here?"

May's face twitched as she watched her blushing and resting her hand on his leg. She clenched her fist and closed her eyes for a moment, and tried to calm herself down. Ash was an asshole, she didn't need him. But really, she did.

"You came over last night and wouldn't let me get away." Ash said and smiled sheepishly. Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Good morning, May." Dawn greeted her. She pushed herself off the couch, tossing a pillow at Ash as she did.

"Good morning, Dawn." May said in the same annoyed tone and they both walked out of the room together. Ash pushed the pillow off himself and sighed.

_Great, they both hate me. _

He also pushed himself up and followed them out, though he wasn't sure if he'd be welcome.

"We need to get out of the city." He heard Dawn tell May. "They'll find you here, eventually."

"Okay, but where can we go?" May asked, sounding exasperated.

"I don't know, but they'll look all over for you so it'll have to be a good hiding place." Dawn said, clasping her hands together. "Boy, you must be a strong girl."

"I'm not though." May said, rubbing her eyes lightly. "I can't even stand up for myself, I have to get other people to do it for me. I can't do anything. I'm useless."

Ash heard her sobbing and stepped into the room. He was surprised to see Dawn hugging May, and May not minding at all. But Dawn was a water type...

To May, the hug was okay. It didn't comfort her, but it didn't make her feel any worse. It did stop her from crying though, because someone was caring for her.

"You'll get better, then you won't need Ash around to protect you."

Ash bit his lip. That was true. Eventually, May would be strong enough to take care of herself. Then, she wouldn't need him anymore and if she really hated him, she'd probably leave. He didn't know whether he'd last without her again, now that he'd found her, and now that they'd shared that kiss... Even if he had told her it was an accident.

"Thanks Dawn." May sniffed. Ash stepped further in, and Dawn glared. May's gaze was softer, though, so he smiled over at her. She looked away.

"Are you ready to leave?" He asked her, and she nodded. "Okay, well, let's go then."

"Wait." May said, holding up her hand. Ash blinked curiously at her. "I want to try something."

"Uh... Alright." Ash said and crossed his arms. "What is it?"

"Um." May pursed her lips. "Try, uh, saying something nice to me." She said. When Ash just stood staring, her eyebrows furrowed. Could he not think of anything?

"You have really beautiful eyes." Ash tried with a sheepish smile.

May then turned and glared at the nearest object to her, a toaster. The toaster blew up straight away, creating smoke. They all coughed for a moment, before they realized what had just happened.

"Wow, you did that?" Dawn asked, gawking. "How?"

May turned away as if she were embarrassed. Ash blinked a few times. Why had she asked him to compliment her?

What had really happened was that when Ash had complimented her, he stirred her feelings for him, making her feel a whole lot of things at once. Happiness, sadness, anger and love. She had never been able to use her powers before because she'd never tried. But knowing that Ash just complimenting her affected her so much, killed her. She hated how she felt. She hated him, but she loved him so much. He only used her to see what happened, not knowing that she had enjoyed it, and felt something. He had obviously felt nothing.

"May, are you okay?" Dawn asked. May snapped out of her daydream and nodded.

"I'm fine. Doing that made me a little drowsy. I guess I need practice." She smiled, but it was completely fake. Dawn noticed, but didn't say anything.

"How did you do it?" Dawn asked, leaning in closer. May wrinkled her nose. Dawn only wanted to know so she could do it herself. But, May didn't want Ash to be complimenting Dawn, as selfish as it was. If she knew it was because Ash had complimented her, she might try it herself, then May would have to listen to them flirting all day.

"I just concentrated on the toaster, that's all." May lied.

"But then why did you get Ash to compliment you?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave me alone," May snapped. "It's none of your business!"

Dawn stepped back with wide eyes. "Okay, sorry. I was just wondering."

May sighed. "Sorry for snapping. We should go now before I go crazy." She shook her head and pushed past Ash out of the door. He followed her obediently until they stepped out of the door and were greeted by soldiers, surrounding the door.

"Shit."

* * *

**Dun dun dun.**

**So now we see the start of the love/hate that May and Ash have, that may or may not last. Don't forget to review if you want to, and let me know what I'm doing right or wrong! :3**


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